Established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 1991, the Gold Star program is designed to identify schools that are performing at a high level academically or making exceptional progress while serving a significant proportion of disadvantaged students. This is the first year that a Missouri charter school has earned Gold Star status. The Academie Lafayette is a French language immersion school.
The Gold Star program is closely aligned with the national Blue Ribbon Schools program, conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education. Eight Missouri schools are eligible to be nominated for the national Blue Ribbon award, which will be announced this fall. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identifies schools that are eligible for Blue Ribbon honors (based on academic performance criteria) and invites them to apply for the Gold Star award. The state application requires schools to provide evidence of their success in such areas as curriculum, instruction and school leadership. Academie Lafayette qualified because the MAP scores have consistently been in the Top 10 in the state in both Communication Arts and Mathematics. Congratulations to Academie Lafayette!