Friday, January 7, 2022
At the end of December, Sabine Parish Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sara Ebarb retired after serving in that post for 10 years. “It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve as superintendent in my home (and beloved) Sabine Parish,” she told Observations. “It has been a privilege to live and work in Sabine Parish.”
The following is an in-depth look at Dr. Ebarb’s career and accomplishments:
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Dr. Ebarb earned her initial Bachelor of Arts Education at Northwestern State University in 1983. From ’83 until 1986, she taught in the classroom at Mrs. Eddie Jones West Shreveport Elementary School.
In 1986, she got a Master of Arts in Counseling from Louisiana Tech at Ruston, beginning as Counselor the same year at Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle School, where she continued until 1992. During her years there, she authored “Responsibilities and Duties of Middle School Counselor,” which was included in the Caddo Parish Counselor’s Guide.
Her education continued at Centenary College in Shreveport, where she earned her master’s degree Plus 30 Graduate Hours in Administration (1989) and Supervision (1995.)
In 1993, she started as Principal at Forrest Hill Elementary School, serving there for ten years. During her time at Forrest Hill, Dr. Ebarb increased the school’s School Performance Score (SPS) dramatically and moved the school to a three star label, earning the school a performance bonus based on academic performance. In addition, she served on a design team to open a new, 16-classroom wing during her tenure. While at Forrest Hill, she was also featured in the Caddo’s Learning the Ropes publication.
After ten years as Principal at Forrest Hill, Dr. Ebarb was named Director of Elementary Schools by the Caddo Parish School Board, a position she held for six years. As Caddo Director of Elementary Schools she directly supervised 14 elementary schools (6,018 students), wrote and managed a $5,000,000 Educational Excellence Fund, managed elementary math and science curriculum for the district, trained and mentored principals, organized and administered summer remediation and summer school for elementary, middle and high schools, and provided quarterly professional development for principals and supervisors.
In 2008, Dr. Ebarb earned her Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. After getting her doctoral degree, she became the Caddo Parish Area Director of School Performance, directly overseeing and supervising 20 elementary, middle and high schools (10,802 students.)
After two years as Caddo Area Director of School Performance, Dr. Ebarb came to Many in 2011 as Sabine Parish Superintendent of Schools. In Sabine, she oversaw the education of 4,300-plus students, 681 employees and 10 schools.
Under her leadership, Sabine Parish schools garnered a number of successes, including being awarded Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants totaling $1.6 million; being named a Top Ten “Outstanding School System” for Top Growth by Louisiana Dept. of Education two different school years; having two “Equity Honoree Award” Schools; named “Outstanding School System” for Top Growth among Economically Disadvantaged Students; District performance score ranked among Top 20 in Louisiana; an improved District graduation rate (87 to 95.4) four consecutive years; and being named No. 1 in school improvement in the state of Louisiana (plus 15.7 points).
Other achievements during Dr. Ebarb’s tenure at Sabine include the building of the new Many Elementary School; the building of a new wing at Zwolle Elementary; the building of an Ag Shop at Ebarb; the renovation of the old MES property into a Sabine School District Support Center; implementation of a One-to-One Technology Program to provide an iPad or Chromebook to every student; implementation of an Online Virtual Learning Program during COVID; and training of teachers and implementation of a Virtual Learning Platform during the pandemic.
She guided the District through a ransomware attack and oversaw its successful recovery; enjoyed an Academic Growth Grade of A; had two Top Growth Schools during her tenure and four “Top Gains Honoree” Schools. She saw 100% of district schools improved; no D or F schools; and partnered with a local community college and university to increase dual enrollment opportunities for students.
During her time as Superintendent there were implemented professional development opportunities to build leadership capacity; an expanded number of Instructional Coaches placed within schools; a collaborative partnership arranged with the Sabine Sheriff to implement a School Resource Officer Program in every school; financial audits were rated Excellent; and the District operated with a balanced budget.
AWARDS & HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Ebarb’s professional awards include
- Region 7 Superintendent of the Year Nominee (2019);
- Hall of Distinguished Educators – Northwestern State University (2014);
- Louisiana PTA Educator of Distinction (2003);
- Principal of the Year – Regional and District (2002);
- Louisiana Assistant Principal of the Year (1997);
- Super School Service Award (1996);
- Outstanding School Service Award (1996, 1988);
- PTA Lifetime Membership Award (1994);
- Excellent School Service Award (1987); and
- Super Supporter Award for National Junior Honor Society (1987).
When Observations asked Supt. Ebarb what she considered the high points of her 10-year tenure, she shared the following thoughts:
“Graduation Rate. Our graduation rate grew 11.7 points from 2012 to 2019. (2019 is the last official scores per the state due to Covid, we just received 2021 simulated data.)
“When I came to Sabine our graduation rate was in the 80s. It was a big concern. We piloted Block Schedule at Many High and a partial block at NHS. Block schedule went so well that we decided to fully implement block scheduling at all high schools. Block gives students eight opportunities to get credits each year instead of the six-class traditional schedule we had before. We also implemented AP courses and increased our Dual Enrollment Courses for College Bound Students. We implemented the Jump Start Program to graduate students work ready. Our 2021 Graduation Rate is 97.7 and we are very proud of that.
“Sabine Parish District Performance Score grew 15.7 points in 2017. Our district worked very hard to implement the state curricula and teach the curricula according to the state guidance. Teachers were trained to meet the needs of the students and we have high quality teachers. Finding certified teachers is an increasingly difficult task, so we tried to focus on training our teachers to yield high quality instruction. Sabine was still in the Top 20 Districts in the State for District Performance, even in 2021.
“In 2017, our District was named an Outstanding School System and Sabine was No. 1 in the state in District Growth.
“We implemented Response to Intervention (RTI) which provided students with needed interventions to meet specific academic needs and close gaps. We continued with the intervention program. In fact, we beefed it up following COVID. Our schools continued to improve in progress, and all of our schools scored either an A or a B in progress on state assessments in 2021. [At my retirement we were] No. 1 in the region and No. 3 in the state in high school growth.
“Our district has a one-to-one tech device to student ratio. We started working toward getting a tech device (iPad or Chromebook) in every student’s hands several years ago. In 2019, we were struck with the Ryuk virus, which is a ransomware virus. We were very close to one-to-one [then], but not quite there, and we lost many computers. That same year – spring of 2020 – Covid hit us, and the world shut down. We had to go to virtual education. We were able to reach our one-to-one tech device to student ratio so that every student had a device by the following fall. We wrote grants that helped us to reach our goal.
“Over $11 million in competitive grants was awarded to our district in the years I was Superintendent. We actively sought grant monies to support and supplement our education budget. Those grants afforded our students tech equipment, afterschool programs, dual enrollment college courses, field trips, college prep activities and supplies. We were rated with clean audits over the years I served as well. Discover the regulations for junior savings accounts to be prepared when your child goes to university.
“Sabine Parish has no D or F schools and all schools, and this was not the case [when I came] in 2011,” she explained.
“I have enjoyed the staff and students in every position I held in Caddo and Sabine,” Dr. Ebarb stated. “The ACLU lawsuit was certainly a low point in my career, but the assault case of MHS was the worst point. I am thankful to our Lord for getting me through it all and continuing to bless our schools and endeavors. I have spent a lot of time praying during my tenure as Superintendent and as an educator.”
FAMILY HISTORY
Sara Peace [Ebarb] was born in Many’s old Fraser Hopsital which her Pa Beasley built. Her mother, Betty Lou Beasley, was the first baby born at Fraser’s. Supt. Ebarb’s maternal grandparents were Gerald “Pa” B. and Claude Armour “Ma” Beasley. He was a building contractor, she a teacher in Sabine Parish at Rock and then Negreet. After her husband Gerald’s death, Ms. Beasley was a housemother at the Methodist Children’s Home in Ruston.
Supt. Ebarb said, “I never knew Pa Beasley as he died in the late 1950s and I wasn’t born until 1961. [My] Uncle Buddy Beasley came over to see me after I moved into my office at the School Board. He told me Pa Beasley was the contractor who built the School Board Office. He said he was the foreman, named the workers and told me some stories about the project. He was glad I was in a building that Pa Beasley built, and I found that very touching. Ma Beasley was a wonderful Christian lady and a great example for us.”
Her paternal grandparents were Gay L. and Annie Speight Peace. Ms. Annie wrote the Little Flock News for the Index back in the 1970s. She was a teacher at Pisgah, and her husband Gay worked for International Paper Co. at Toro, from where he eventually retired. Supt. Ebarb stated, “My grandparents loved and supported me, and I miss them terribly.”
Dr. Ebarb’s parents were Gary L. and Betty Lou Beasley Peace. She grew up in Negreet where her parents and both grandmothers went to Scheel, as did as her two brothers. Her daddy worked in the oil field, offshore, until he retired in 1999. Her mother was a stay-at-home wife and mom, but she did a lot of volunteering at the school and played the piano at Oak Hill Baptist Church, where she also served as secretary. Recalling her beloved mother, Supt. Ebarb stated, “She was a great entertainer. She was witty and loved to laugh and was a fantastic cook. She could sew, crochet, quilt and always had a project going. She died in 1996 of cancer and was a wonderful person and beloved by the community.”
She said her father loved horses and cows and had a small leather shop and was creative as well. She remembered, “When he was young, he was a very good bull rider. I have heard many stories about my daddy and his rodeo days. He was a perfectionist. He served his country in the Marines and worked very hard all his life, both while on the job and at home. He died in 2010 of cancer. We still miss both of them and think of them every day.”
Supt. Ebarb recalled that one of her aunts is Sue Peace Peterson who was married to Ben D. Peterson until he died, and an uncle was Phillip Peace who owned Creative Carpets in Natchitoches until his death. Her Aunt Sue is a retired RN who was a school nurse for several years. Supt. Ebarb’s mother had two brothers, Buddy and Zane Beasley, both now deceased.
Supt. Ebarb has two brothers, Russell and Boyd Peace. She is the oldest of the siblings, celebrating age 60 on Dec. 23. Russell is married to Carol Hagel Peace who is an RN at the Rural Health Clinic in Many. Boyd is married to Joella Gandy Peace, who is a teacher at Negreet. Russell is the Assistant Principal at Zwolle High, and Boyd has always worked in the oil field. He was a company man for Chevron until he was laid off last December. He is currently working with Clint Anderson in construction. Russell has three boys, Zack, Kelly and Matt. They are all married and have children: Nolan is two and lives in Tupelo, MS; Keaton, Kash and Caroline go to Many Schools, where Keaton is a senior. Boyd has two girls, Lora and Emma. Lora is a senior at Northwestern and Emma is a senior at Negreet. Supt. Ebarb added, “We are a close family. It has really been a joy to be here and see my nieces and nephews grow up and to watch them progress in school and play sports. These kids mean so much to me.”
Dr. Sara Ebarb and her husband Ronnie have been married 37 years. She was attending Northwestern in the summer of 1981 and working at the service desk at TG&Y when Ronnie came in one day to buy some Country music cassette tapes. His cousin, Stan Garcie, was Sara’s boss. She helped Ronnie at the service desk, and they talked awhile. Later, Stan asked Sara if Ronnie could call her. She said “okay,” and shortly after that he called and asked if she would go out with him. He was from Shreveport but was in Sabine Parish playing in a softball tournament. He was one of the original Paul Ebarb team members. They went out that night and married three years later.
Ronnie worked in the oilfield in Shreveport for over 40 years. He was production manager for TXD until he retired in 2015. He got an offer he couldn’t refuse and went back to work in 2017 and retired again from Kingwood Operating in June 2021. Ronnie has a great reputation in the oil patch and is a very hard worker. He also served in the Marine Corps. His parents lived in Shreveport and raised their family there because his dad, a veteran of both World War II and Korea, needed to remain close to Barksdale Air Force Base. Ronnie’s father, David Ebarb, was injured in battle and was medically retired. He was from Ebarb and his mother, Elaine, was from Zwolle. They are now both deceased. Supt. Ebarb shared, “They were both good to me and I appreciated them both.” Ronnie has a sister, Linda Schanks, and a brother, Mike Ebarb. His brother Duane died a couple of years ago. She added, “We are also very close to Ronnie’s family and adore his nieces and nephews.”
Sara and Ronnie are members of Oak Hill Baptist Church where she teaches the Adult Sunday School Class. She grew up attending there, and she and Ronnie were married there. She explained, “We lived on a farm where my daddy lived, and his parents lived on Lakeside Loop. The lake came up right across the road from our place. My granddaddy had 40 acres that went under the lake. The land on which we live has been in the Speight family (my grandmother’s family) for over 150 years. We have maintained our house in Shreveport for several reasons, but our home is here.”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Debra Lee, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Federal Programs for the Sabine School Board, provided this outline of Supt. Ebarb’s accomplishments:
In District and School Performance Scores, from 2011 until 2019 (most recent scores available) during Dr. Ebarb’s tenure the Sabine Parish School District Overall Grade rose from C to B. Individual school grade improvements were Negreet (B to A); Pleasant Hill (D to B) and Zwolle High School (C to A.) All other school grades remained the same as follows: Converse, B; Ebarb, B; Florien, B; Many Elementary, C; Many Junior High, C; Many High, A; and Zwolle Elementary, C.
Academics
· Graduation Rate increased 11.7 pts since 2012.
2019
· Ranked 4th out of the 10 districts in the Central.
· Sabine ranked 18th in the top 20 highest performing districts in the state, of 70 districts.
· Named “Outstanding School System” ranking in the Top 10 for student growth.
· Ranked 2nd in the Central Region for student growth.
· Ranked among the top 25 districts in the state and ranked third in the Central Region, with the highest percentage of graduates earning early college credit and/or statewide credentials in 2019.
· Ranked 1st in the Central Region in the percentage of students earning Top Growth in math.
· Ranked 1st in the Central Region in the percentage of economically disadvantaged students earning Top Growth in ELA and Math combined.
· Ranked 2nd in the Central Region in the percentage of both students with disabilities and African American students earning Top Growth in ELA and math combined.
2018
· Ranked 4th out of the 10 districts in the Central Region.
· Ranked 3rd with letter grade “A” with 2.1 points improvement.
· Ranked 17th in the top 20 highest performing districts in the state, of 70 districts.
· Ranked 3rd statewide with more than half of all students demonstrating top growth in ELA and math.
· Ranked 2nd in moving economically disadvantaged students to mastery.
· Ranked 1st in the Central Region for moving students with disabilities toward mastery and 14th in the state.
2017
· In 2017 Sabine improved its District Performance Score by 15.7 points.
· Ranked No. 1 in District Performance Growth in the State.
· Ranked 18th in the Top 20 Highest Performing Districts in Louisiana.
2015
· Ranked 2nd of the 17 districts statewide with “Three Consecutive Years of Improvement” in the graduation rate.
Additional Successes
· Increased beginning teacher’s salary to over $40,000 and implemented new salary schedule.
· Implemented two new pathways for high school students.
· Pre-Educator
· Pre-Engineering (STEM Pathway)
· State recognized Universal Pre-K.
· Established a CLEP testing center and implemented CLEP testing.
· Increased number of teachers qualified to teach AP.
· Increased number of AP courses available to students.
· Increased AP enrollment.
· Increased number of dual enrollment courses available to students.
· Leader In Me established in four schools.
· Block scheduling for high schools.
· Awarded $1,363,156 million Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant.
· Awarded $685,970 Math and Science Partnership Grant.
· Awarded $1.7 million USDA Distance Learning Grant.
· Awarded $439,747 Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grant.
· Awarded $2,983,500 NYCP grant to ensure students are prepared for college and careers.
· Sabine Online established (Online Learning Program.)
· Provided Google suite training (Classroom, Drive, Forms, Slides, Sheets, Docs.)
· One-to-one ratio: computers for all students and teachers.
· Establish access points for community access to internet.
· Established incentive pay for teachers in hard to staff areas.
· Established Sabine as a Ready Start Network for Early Childhood.
· Awarded the Everybody Graduates Grant.
· Awarded over $4 million in Grant Funding for Afterschool Programs.
Safety
· Active Shooter Drills
· School Resource Officers
· First Aid and CPR Trainers
· School-to-home communications system notifies parents about student absences, school delays and closings, calls and texts.
· Installation of cameras in schools and on buses
Outreach
· New and improved district website
· Updated department and school websites
· District and school Facebook pages
· Electronic communications for parents, community and employees
· FAFSA awareness campaigns for seniors
Schools and Facilities
· Construction of a new Many Elementary School
· Construction of a new wing at Zwolle Elementary
· Construction of Ag Shop at Ebarb
· Redesigned and remodeled the old MES and established a District Support Center (Tech Dept., Special Services Dept., Warehouse and Transportation Dept.)
Leadership
· Superintendent’s Advisory Council for BESE and State Supt
· NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators
· Established Aspiring Leaders Academy
· Region 7 Superintendent of the Year
· Clean Yearly Financial Audits
LOOKING BACK
Looking back over her professional career and her years as Sabine Superintendent, Dr. Ebarb shared, “The Lord has allowed me to serve children and youth through my career and this has been a great blessing to me. I love the people with whom I have worked in both Caddo and Sabine and have made lasting friendships. The parish agencies have all been very supportive of our schools and I am thankful for their assistance. I thank the Sabine Parish School Board Members who have supported me, our staff and students and for the opportunity lead this district. I thank the Lord for the career opportunities I’ve had, and I pray His continued blessings on Sabine Parish Schools. I want to thank my family and friends for their prayers, encouragement and support and I look forward to retiring with my husband of 37 years, Ronnie, and doing some traveling.”
-30-
