Press Releases

ZCSD Warns of Possible Scammers in the Area

2009-06-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Zachary Community Schools officials have received information that misleading and possibly deceptive door-to-door magazine and educational book sales crews have approached residents in the Zachary area selling educational materials.

These salespersons have said or implied they are representing the Zachary Community Schools when making their sales pitch to parents with children. Zachary Community Schools is not associated with, nor do they endorse or recommend their products.

Kindergarten Testing

2009-05-18T11:21:00.001-07:00

Calling All Future Kindergarten Students!
If you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten for the 2009-2010 school year, please call the school. Each child entering Kindergarten will need to be tested, and we are currently scheduling testing sessions

Zachary Students Participate in Recycling Program

2009-05-11T06:17:00.001-07:00

Stop, Think, Drink and Sink! That’s what students in Zachary schools were doing this semester as they began Drink It Then Sink It, the district-wide plastic recycling program. Students recycle plastic in the form of milk bottles and other approved drink containers, including water bottles. They are the first district in the state to recycle the plastic bottles.

This school year Zachary School District switched from serving milk in paper cartons which are not recycled to recyclable, kid-friendly 8 ounce plastic bottles. “Our students love the plastic bottles and as a result, they are drinking more milk,” said Kathy Valentine, Child Nutrition Supervisor..

Recycling plastic milk bottles at school benefits schools and the community. It teaches students to be environmentally responsible, it significantly decreases trash and diverts it from the landfill, and it saves natural resources as recycled bottles are made into new products.

The recycling project was planned and implemented by a partnership including Zachary School Nutrition Program, Recycling Foundation and Southeast Dairy Association,

Zachary High Hosts Career Day

2009-04-23T07:30:00.001-07:00

Zachary High School will host their annual Career Day Friday, April 24. Students will have the opportunity to hear from speakers representing a variety of professions. The current list of speakers includes Kelly Bennett of the Art Institute of Houston, District Judge Chip Moore, Interior Designer Ashley Hawthorne, Author Brett Funk, La Speaker of the House Joe Salter, Shane Bourgeois cyber cop, and many others. Careers such as dentist, chemical, mechanical and civil engineers, firefighters, pharmacist, certified public accountants and the medical professionals from Lane Regional Medical Center will be on hand to expose students to the wealth of opportunities in today's job market. More than 70 speakers will be present for this special event. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan at 658-4969.

Elementary School Art Shows

2009-04-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Zachary Community School District's elementary school art programs have upcoming showcases of student work. Copper Mill Elementary's event will feature young aspiring artists and Talented Art Students Thursday, April 23. The 4th grade viewing will be held from 6:00-6:45 p.m. while the 5th grade viewing will be from 6:45-7:30 p.m. Zachary Elementary will host their event Wednesday, May 6 from 5:30-7 p.m. and Northwestern Elementary will be Tuesday, May 12 5:30-6:30 p.m. Come see the amazing pieces these students have created.

Zachary Students Shine at Digital Technologies and Creative Processes Spring Intensive

2009-04-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

A group of Zachary Community Schools students and their teacher Margret Atkinson have had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Digital Technologies and Creative Processes Initiative Spring Intensive this past week.

3D Squared, Inc., is sponsoring a digital workforce intensive for students, parents and teachers at the LITE Center in Lafayette. Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is a $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facility located at the Research Park of the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

The event will culminate with a capstone stakeholder conference for leaders in business and government on April 17-18. The conference will include panel discussions with industry insiders and presentations on the digital technologies and creative processes initiative, which is funded by a grant from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.

Of the 40 students participating in this unique experience 12 are students at Northwestern Middle or Zachary High School. The students are using Metaplace platform to create games that address real Louisiana problems. They have committed to long hours and extra research and have been engaged by this unique project.

After they had an in-service about the platform Metaplace, they began to build their virtual worlds. The students are working to solve one of Louisiana's four core problems: health care, education, brain drain, and coastal erosion. The students broke into groups, and the team leaders, presented their issue, possible solutions, and the game genre they planned on using.

According to Teacher Margret Atkinson, the students are learning skills other than virtual world building. “Working on a team, they have to communicate with each other. I teach most of the students, and I have been interested to hear how they would communicate with each other outside of a classroom setting. The students certainly felt some creative tension early in the process, but they have completely worked it out, through their own means and under the guidance of the lab leader. The students are learning how to organize their thoughts and research the relevant points to support their arguments. The students are also learning how to manage time and pace themselves, as they have daily tasks they have to complete.”

The students' presentation of their work from the Digital Workforce Intensive to industry experts will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday. This will be followed with discussions with experts on a variety of topics including a presentation on The Impact of Games & Digital Media on Louisiana’s Social & Economic Future.

Saturday’s activities include more discussions with the experts and panels culminating in a keynote by Education Futurist James Brazell.

Zachary Students Shine at Digital Workforce Intensive

2009-04-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

ZHS Agriscience holds Spring Plant Sale

2009-03-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

The Zachary High Agriscience / FFA Spring Plant Sale

Wednesday, March 1 through Friday, March 3
7: 30 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday, March 4
8:00 – 3:00 pm

Choose from:
Flowering bedding plants
Vegetable plants
Hanging baskets
All plants were grown by the Zachary Agriscience students. Look for the greenhouses near the stadium. Contact Kathy Conerly at 658-7326 for additional information

Northwestern Middle students win all-expense-paid trip to NCAA Women's Final Four to compete in fitness challenge

2009-03-26T08:46:00.001-07:00

Ten Northwestern Middle School students and their sponsors have won an all expense paid trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four to compete in the Middle School Challenge portion of the 2009 Pinnacle of Fitness challenge program. The program was created to energize middle school age children about physical fitness and healthy lifestyles. Competitions were held in nine cities across the United States. The winning middle school from each region will be awarded the opportunity to compete in the NCAA National Pinnacle of Fitness challenge on center court at NCAA Hoop City® Refreshed by Coca-Cola® during the 2009 Women’s Final Four. There, one middle school will be named the 2009 Pinnacle of Fitness challenge champion.
LSU was selected as one of the nine sites for the competition and hosted the first Middle School Challenge on Thursday, Jan. 22 at halftime of the Lady Tigers’ game additional Middle School Challenges were held on February 1, March 22 and March 24. Northwestern Middle students defeated Woodlawn to advance to the final round of competition to be held in St. Louis, MO on April 5 and 6. The 2009 Pinnacle of Fitness challenge involved 100 middle schools in nine selected cities with 74,000 students participating.
“The Pinnacle of Fitness challenge is an important and fun initiative that will connect the great game of basketball with youth in communities across the country to help in the promotion of improved physical fitness,” said Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president of Division I Women’s Basketball. “We have enjoyed the challenge of beginning the program in nine markets in 2009 and hope to expand the reach of the program in the future.”
The cornerstone of the program is the Middle School Challenge, which educates and challenges students to improve their level of physical fitness through leading active lives, goal setting and developing life skills. The competition activities include curl-ups, ¼ mile endurance run-walk, pull-ups, shuttle run and sit and reach.
Members of the Northwestern Middle fitness team are Alexis Taylor, Tori White, Jarquelle Jackson, Earl Profit, Mariah Wright, Burke Daigle, Mariah Clayton, Garrin Ford, Nijah Lain and Durrell Joseph.
The Middle School Challenge began with each of the competing middle schools conducting in-school assessment and testing. The top 10 students from the competing middle schools competed in progressive on-court competitions during the regular season and again during the championship.

Zachary state’s top performing school district for 4th consecutive year

2008-11-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

When the Louisiana Department of Education released the 2008 School and District Performance Scores Friday, the Zachary Community School District ranked as the state’s top performing school district for the fourth consecutive year.

“We are very proud that our students, teachers, and administrators have achieved the #1 score in the state of Louisiana for the 4th year in a row,” Superintendent Warren Drake said.

This year’s score of 112.6 is a significant accomplishment for the district because it is the highest score the district has ever received. School officials say it represents a continued focus on academic excellence. The score reflects 2.5 point of growth over last year.

“This data indicates that not only have we sustained strong academic performance since becoming our own school district, but we continue to get better each year through the hard work and dedication of our teachers, students, staff, administrators, school board, and community members,” Drake said.

Along with the District Performance Scores, the state also released school-level data and the results of the first End of Course exams given in Algebra I last school year. Three of the District’s five schools exceeded their Growth Targets and the other two schools, while not meeting their Growth Targets, still performed exceptionally well by achieving the highest 2008 Baseline School Performance Scores in the district.

“We are extremely proud of all of our schools and we will continue to focus on teaching one student at a time as we help all of our students achieve their maximum potential,” Drake said.

On the End of Course exam, Zachary had the highest percent of students scoring in the Excellent category in the state and only 14 percent of students scoring in the Needs Improvement category.

“We have excellent math teachers in the Zachary Community School District and we commend them for providing outstanding instruction to all of our students,” Drake said.

For more information on statewide scores, see the Louisiana Department of Education release. Parents can find more information on the school accountability results here or by contacting the Louisiana Department of Education. For information on Zachary Community School District scores, please contact Michelle Clayton at 658-4969.

Two Zachary High Students Named National Achievement Semifinalists

2008-10-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Zachary High School students Macy Lagarde and Jordan Sergent are Semifinalists in the 45th annual Achievement Scholarship Competition, the National Achievement Scholarship Program announced recently.

The scholastically talented students, among more than 1,600 African-American high-school seniors who have been designated 2009 Semifinalists, now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 scholarships worth more than $2.6 million to be awarded next spring.

The National Achievement Program, conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), is a privately financed academic competition that operates without government assistance. It was initiated in 1964 to recognize academically promising African-American students throughout the nation and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding program participants. To date, more than 27,800 young men and women have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $91 million.

Approximately 1,300 Semifinalists are expected to fulfill additional requirements and advance to the Finalist level in the 2009 program. All Achievement Scholar® awardees will be selected from the Finalist group on the basis of their abilities, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
More than 150,000 high school juniors from all parts of the United States requested consideration in the 2009 National Achievement Program when they took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists were designated within geographic regions and are the highest-scoring program entrants in the states that make up each region.

To advance to the Finalist level in the competition, a Semifinalist must present a record of high academic performance throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high-school principal and earn SAT scores that confirm the PSAT/NMSQT performance. Also, the Semifinalist and a high-school official must complete a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the student's participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities and educational goals.

For more information about the program, visit the Web site at http://www.nationalmerit.org/nasp.php.

Webcast of Zachary Bronco Football

2008-09-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

While Bronco fans are always encouraged to come out and support the football team on Friday nights, the Athletic Department is continuing the live weekly webcast as a service to those who can't make it to the games in Bronco stadium. Each week, fans can log on at http://www.zacharyschools.org or http://www.zacharybroncofootball.com and click on the link to access a live video feed of the game with commentary and play by play of all the action. It's a great way for Bronco alumni around the country, opponents unable to make the trip with their teams or distant relatives to see all of the action live. You will need Quicktime player to access the video feed and the stream goes live approximately 10 minutes before kickoff each week.

Hall of Distinction Nominations Being Accepted

2008-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

The Zachary Community School Board Hall of Distinction Committee is now accepting nominations for membership in the Hall of Distinction. To be eligible, a person must have been associated with a school or the school district prior to nomination.

The Hall of Distinction honors any person, living or dead, whose life and accomplishments can be an inspiration to the students of the Zachary Community School System.

To be selected, a person must:
 Exemplify the Mission and Vision of the Zachary Community School Board.
 Demonstrate service to humanity.
 Maintain a quality reputation within the general community.
 Show significant individual accomplishments.

Letters of nomination and copies of resumes or other biographical materials are due
by Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Nomination forms may be downloaded from the Zachary Community Schools website at http://www.zacharyschools.org or picked up from the Zachary High School office. Please send your nomination packet to the attention of:

Hall of Distinction Committee
Zachary Community School Board Office
4656 Main Street
Zachary, LA 70791

Download Nomination Form

Meet The Broncos and Ribbon Cutting for Academic Athletic Center

2008-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Zachary Community School Board will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and tours of the state-of-the-art new Zachary High Academic Athletic Center on Monday, August 25 at 6 p.m. The ribbon cutting ceremony and facility tours will be followed by Meet the Broncos at Bronco Stadium. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan.

Online Payments Now Available

2008-08-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Zachary Community School District is now offering a new program that allows parents to pay for student fees online.

PayOurSchool.com, powered by RevTrak, provides the district with a personalized web store where parents can make a payment with their MasterCard or VISA (credit, debit or check card) Parents may also go online to see their student’s balance and transaction history.

RevTrak provides the web hosting, security, card processing, support, accounting, and training for the district at the rate of 2.99% or 59¢ minimum per transaction. For example a $50.00 transaction will cost parents a total of $51.50.

This service is offered in ADDITION to the current methods of payment as another way the district can meet the needs of parents.

Throughout the year this service may be used for spirit items, ice cream purchases, yearbooks, field trips, or event tickets. You will need your child's student id # to make online payments. Please contact your child's school for that information. Visit the webstoreVisit Our New Web Store!

Zachary High Freshman Only Day

2008-07-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Zachary High will host Freshman Only Day on Thursday, August 7 from 3 to 5 p.m. The Senior/Freshman Mentor program will begin at that time as well as tours of the school and icebreaker activities.

Von Rosenberg to receive Mr. Baseball award

2008-06-09T04:35:00.001-07:00

Zachary High Baseball player Zack Von Rosenberg will be presented with the Farm Bureau Mr. Baseball award today at 1 p.m. at the Zachary High Baseball indoor facility. This annual honor is given to the best overall baseball player in the state of Louisiana each year. Von Rosenberg played a key role in the Broncos 2nd straight State 4-A Baseball Championship this season. The 6-foot-5 junior right-hander helped the team rally to win back to back state championships after an injury. Von Rosenberg has already committed to LSU for his college ball. For more information, contact Coach Jesse Cassard.

School Board to Honor Students for iLEAP, LEAP and GEE Scores

2008-05-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

The Zachary Community School Board will honor students who achieved a perfect score in any subject area on the state accountability tests this year at the 7 p.m. meeting tonight. More than 50 Zachary students received a perfect score of 500 in one or more areas. Congratulations to these students, their parents and teachers.

Zachary High to Videostream Graduation Live on Internet

2008-05-15T05:19:00.000-07:00

Family members and friends who can't be in town for the Zachary High graduation Friday night at Bethany are invited to tune into the live webcast of the event being provided with the assistance of Bethany North. The stream can be accessed by going to the media broadcasts area of the Bethany North website located at http://north.bethany.com and clicking on the link that says "Live Stream every Sunday at 10:30 a.m." The stream will only be active once graduation has started.

Community Meeting set for May 1 on facilities

2008-04-14T07:14:00.001-07:00

The Zachary Community School Board will host a facilities update and community forum on Thursday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Copper Mill Elementary auditorium. The program will include a presentation on the building program, updates on the status of current projects and a discussion of future goals. The public is invited to provide input on the direction of facilities in the Zachary Community School District. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan at 658-4969 or email adonica.duggan@zacharyschools.org.

ZES to host Hero Breakfasts

2008-04-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

Zachary Elementary will host their second annual Hero Breakfasts next week. During this event, students invite a special person who they look up to as a hero. The 2nd grade breakfast will be held on Tuesday, April 15 at 8 a.m. in the Zachary Elementary auditorium and the 3rd graders will hold their event on April 16.

PreK and Kindergarten Round-Ups set for April 10 & 11

2008-04-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten Round-Up
Northwestern Elementary School will host Kindergarten Round-Up on April 10th at 9 a.m. Prospective Kindergarten students must be five years old by September 30,2008. All students must have the following documentation to submit a completed packet:
Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Up-to-date immunization record
Completed registration form
Four documents proving residence

Pre-Kindergarten Round-Up
Northwestern Elementary School will host Pre-Kindergarten Round-Up on April 11th at 9 a.m. Prospective PreK students must be four years old by September 30,2008. All students must have the following documentation to submit a completed packet:
Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Up-to-date immunization record
Completed registration form
Four documents proving residence
Both paying and free PreK spaces are limited and applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Families who wish to apply for free PreK must provide proof of family income for an application to be considered. Families who wish to apply for paying PreK will be required to submit a non-refundable $50 deposit to secure a space. Tuition will be $300 per month. It does not include breakfast or lunch, but will cover all field trips, materials, supplies and transportation. Families who do not pay their tuition during the school year will forfeit their space to the next student on the waiting list.

District sets standard for tech rich spaces

2008-02-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Zachary School Board has set a high standard when it comes to technology-rich learning spaces. Cutting-edge multimedia classrooms equipped with ceiling mounted digital projectors and Hitachi StarBoard® T-17SXL EM Panels are becoming the norm. These multimedia teaching devices are compact, ergonomic and pen-driven with a 17-inch LCD display. Think overhead projector meets the Jetsons. The model mirrors the interactive classroom set up common in the higher education setting. Teachers drive presentation and classroom lectures from the device with the ability to write, draw, and control any of the applications on the teacher station computer. This allows the students to easily view the information on the 10 foot retractable screens installed in the front of each classroom. Replacing an older model involving televisions, the new standard takes advantage of digital projectors and a large screen to permit increased visibility throughout the classroom. All new construction in the districts is being built based on this model and existing spaces have been retrofitted to include the new technology.

Educators from the Zachary School District toured various other schools around the region as a part of their research into the best interactive presentation solution. After seeing the Hitachi Software StarBoard T-Series panels in action at an Atlanta school, the answer became clear.

The installation began with high school math classes and has now been adopted throughout the district. We are now around 180 total panels throughout the district; most of those being the T-17SXL model, and our teachers continue to be impressed with the overall increase in student participation and enthusiasm. From kindergarten to Calculus, students in the Zachary Community School District are provided with a technology-rich environment not limited to a computer lab.

Joe Rush of MIS Technology in Baton Rouge handled the product introduction and transition for the school district. “We’ve installed a complete interactive presentation solution in the classrooms in Zachary with the standard setup being a Hitachi Software StarBoard T-17SXL panel, a Hitachi CP-X260 ceiling mounted LCD projector and a 120-inch screen, creating a visually stimulating and interactive environment for the students,” said Rush.

“Every student is engaged in the technology,” said Rush. “Teachers are actively letting students operate the T-Series panels and the students are excited to “play with the toy,” which is key in a society where kids are surrounded by other interactive electronic technologies such as cell phones, video games and MP3 players.”

For more information or to arrange a tour, contact Adonica Duggan.

New café rewards hard working ZHS students

2008-02-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. That is, unless you’re a hardworking Zachary High student. The Hard Work Café at Zachary High is a part of the school’s ongoing move to provide unique ways to reward students for their efforts. Each week teachers select one of their students to be treated to lunch in the café. Students are chosen for having worked exceptionally hard during the previous week. Students then use their passes on Thursdays as admission to the café for a free lunch brought in from area restaurants. They enjoy lunch in a fun atmosphere complete with music.

Located near the ROTC classes, The Hard Work Café is decorated to represent Zachary High, the Zachary community, and the state of Louisiana. A beautiful cast aluminum fence was built by Zachary High Welding Instructor Davis Rayborn. Administrators are hoping the café will be a positive motivation for all students to give their best so that they can participate.

Zachary High will host the café’s grand opening celebration on March 6 at 10:45 a.m. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan at 658-4969.

Zachary students exposed to the wonders of space with STARLAB

2008-02-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

Ursa Major, Orion and Aquarius will all be on display in the Copper Mill cafetorium next week. Students in Zachary are being exposed to the exciting world of astronomy as a result of a generous donation from the Zachary Rotary Club. The organization chose the purchase of a STARLAB portable planetarium as their Rotary Centennial Service Project a few years ago. Since that time, students, teachers and parents in Zachary have had access to this unique tool for bringing astronomy to life.

A community of stargazers has been born. Family Science nights have been held as a fundraiser to offset teacher training costs and allow a STARLAB expert to teach the students. During that time thousands of Pre-K through 5th grade students have been dazzled and awed by the exciting classes they have participated in using this exemplary educational tool. Fifth grade classes at Copper Mill Elementary will be cycling through the STARLAB during the week of February 25. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan.