Lakeside Jr/Sr High School in Webster Parish has secured its place in history by becoming the first school in the parish to attain an A rating in the recently released Louisiana school performance scores.
Principal Denny Finley, who has dedicated 22 years to Lakeside, the past 9 as principal, attributes this achievement to the collective efforts of Lakeside’s teachers, staff, and students, with support from the Webster Parish School Board.
“It’s about everybody here,” stated Finley. “Everybody decided early on that they wanted to achieve an A, and I’m talking about the custodial staff, the secretaries, the teachers, and the students. Everyone is competitive and striving to be an A.”
Finley emphasized the positive culture and learning environment at Lakeside, describing it as welcoming, safe, and focused on achievement, which he believes contributes significantly to their success.
“We have great teachers; I think they’re the best in the state of Louisiana,” Finley remarked. “They love Lakeside. They’re not coming here just for a job, which makes the climate and culture outstanding at Lakeside. When you have climate and culture like that, the students feed off of that. We have very low discipline rates at Lakeside; our students just do what they’re supposed to do.”
Last year, the school’s rating was a high B. Finley stated that, when schools shut down during the COVID pandemic, they were on track to score an A, but that was the year that scores were not counted.
“We were going to be an A that year, and then they took the school performance scores away from us,” expressed Finley. “That kind of crushed our staff and our students because they had worked so hard just to have it taken away. It kind of knocked us down, but we just went back to work and accomplished it this year.”
Expressing pride in the entire community, Finley stated, “I’m proud of this entire community. This A means a lot for this area. It’s not about one person; it’s about the whole area.”
Superintendent Rowland echoed the sentiment, saying, “I’m very proud of them and everyone involved — but especially their students.”