Inspire Charter Academy has experienced tremendous growth over the past year, focusing on fulfilling the needs of individual students through an intense focus on student data. With over 20 years of educational experience, Ms. Kimberly Boudreaux, principal of Inspire Charter Academy, has driven a positive shift in her school’s academic performance since coming on board in 2018.
Inspire Charter Academy experienced an increase of two letter grades on the Louisiana Department of Education’s annual State Report Card in the 2018-19 school year. This is the first time the school has achieved a “C” letter grade since its opening in 2010.
Boudreaux credits the work her teachers and staff have put into individualized plans for Inspire’s students for the school’s substantial growth, moving from an “F” grade to an overall “C” grade. For Boudreaux and her team, data drives instruction. She encourages her staff to use every piece of available data to paint a picture of who each individual student is, based on their academic progress. Her team then uses that information to look for continuity in their daily academic performance.
“My teachers and staff have taken numerous steps to achieve the progress that our school has seen thus far,” said Boudreaux. “Teachers and staff are focused on ensuring that we as a school meet the needs of our students. We treat each student as an individual with a unique set of needs and develop a plan of care.”
Inspire’s teachers look to identify any deviations in student performance, and they work with school leaders to analyze changes that a student may encounter which may be impacting their projected academic path. “This is done for every student, thus creating an individual ‘plan of care’ that supports closing the gaps in major academic performance,” Boudreaux shared.
This grade letter increase marks a major milestone for Inspire as the school continues to work towards continued academic progress. As part of its annual school performance grading system, the Louisiana Department of Education issues each school a state report card that includes a letter grade. In addition to the letter grade advancement, Inspire outperformed all its closest schools on the overall grade and the achievement index, and outperformed five out of six of the closest schools on the progress index, indicating growth, receiving a ‘B’ on the progress index.
“As a school, we have an intense focus on the data of our students to ensure that the curriculum and supplementary tools meet the needs of our scholars,” shared Boudreaux. “We ensure that students are equally invested in their growth as a person and as a student.”
Boudreaux began her career teaching in Texas, before moving back to Louisiana to pursue a position teaching English to high school students. Along the way, she’s held various teaching and leadership positions before finding her home at National Heritage Academies (NHA). She holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary English, a master’s degree in administration and supervision, and a master’s degree in mental health counseling all from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Boudreaux reflected that if she could give her students one piece of advice, it would be to “aim high and work hard. All goals are achievable if you believe.”