Ville Platte Rotary: Opening of new EP school discussed

By: HEATHER BOGARD
Associate Editor

Evangeline Parish School Board Superintendent and Rotarian Darwan Lazard, along with Alice LeJeune, shared details about the new Evangeline Parish Reimagine Academy, which will be opening with the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, at the March 28, meeting of the The Ville Platte Rotary Club. Through a Reimagine Grant, the Evangeline Parish School District was able to submit a proposal for the school and was one of 18 grants approved throughout the state. The Reimagine Academy will be the district’s first stand alone junior high school and will be located in the former location of Heritage Manor Nursing Home on Thompson Street.
The location was selected based on data collected, and Ward One in Ville Platte was most in need, as it has the lowest performance scores on standardized tests and the most referrals, absences and suspensions. The new school will implement the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) turnaround model, giving 6th-8th grade students living in Ward One a high-quality and enriching academic experience. This grant is an important part of the district’s efforts to increase the academic performance of the district’s middle grade students and increase their post-secondary preparation through STEAM curriculum and work-based learning. Lazard noted the district received the grant as the proposal works with the middle grades, which can be the most challenging for teachers.
Under the new program, several new innovations will be available. The district will provide all staff with targeted, differentiated professional development and facilitate professional learning communities. The school will remain open until 5 p.m. for student interventions, extracurricular enrichment activities and parent engagement program.
Students in the program, in addition to English, math, social studies and science, will participate in one of five learning zones (art, business, gaming and tech, agriculture and communication) designed to embed student goal setting, entrepreneurship and STEAM into the curriculum while tapping into local enterprise.
Evangeline’s Reimagine Action will reassign 6th-8th students attending Ville Platte Lower Elementary and Ville Platte High schools to a new middle school campus. These two schools account for a third of all reported absences reported across the district. Further, students at these schools experienced higher rates of disciplinary incidents than peer schools across the district while trailing them in reading and math achievement. The Reimagine Grant presents an opportunity for the district to offer a best-in-class framework for the redesign and transformation of the middle school experience for students across Louisiana by focusing primarily on the student experience, teacher quality, and high-quality curriculum and instructional practices. Evangeline Parish’s ACE implementation will also serve as a demonstration of a district’s ability to lead an effective school turnaround that is grounded in both research-based best practices and the community’s assets and values.
According to Lazard, “Evangeline’s Reimagine Project is an outstanding learning opportunity for the students in Evangeline Parish School District. I’m grateful for the grant from the Louisiana Department of Education and Cade Brumley, which has provided this unique funding for us to reimagine teaching and learning programs, practices, and processes for students in grades 6-8. As superintendent, my goal has been and still is to provide an educational buffet of opportunities for the students of Evangeline Parish as we strive to become a first-rate system. If given the opportunity to enact this visionary plan in its original design, whose implementation is in the most capable hands of Liz Chatelain (grant coordinator), Kenneth Kidder (curriculum specialist), and other team members, education in Evangeline will improve exponentially for middle school students, whose performance historically trails all other grade clusters statewide and nationally.”
LeJeune, teacher and principal of Pine Prairie High School for the past three years, was selected as principal for the Reimagine Academy and shared, “What an opportunity to be a part of this historic and important development in the school system. She reiterated what Lazard said about the school and its programs, noting “We hope to partner with Ville Platte businesses for future workers.” She added, the school will be led by students (three from each zone on a board of directors). LeJeune also said there will be opportunity for outside excursions for students to network with the community and build relationships for the future. Patrick Guillory will serve as assistant principal under LeJeune.
In addition, LeJeune stated there will be a “virtual economy exchange.” If students meet their goals, they will be “paid” an hourly rate in order to help them learn to manage their money. They can use the virtual funds to purchase experiences and participate in outside excursions. She also said, instead of recess, there will be “recess rooms,” where students can participate in activities during break times. Current extracurricular activities, such as 4-H, Beta and sports will also be offered. The school’s mascot will be the Mighty Lions with colors of yellow and black.
LeJeune said the school will follow the school district’s calendar. However, the students will have school until 3:45 p.m. Transportation will be provided and a “super snack” will be served in addition to breakfast and lunch.
Lazard concluded by noting he was grateful for the support of the school board and city council in moving forward with this endeavor. He said, “We hope to do a great job and have the program replicated throughout the state.”
Of the new development, former Evangeline Parish Chamber of Commerce President Dr. Gwen Fontenot stated, “Evangeline Parish Public School System’s Reimagine [Action]... is a forward-thinking, creative, and exceptional opportunity to engage students in alternative learning techniques that will not only keep them interested in school at a time when they are often thinking of dropping out, but will also give them insights and opportunities for careers they may have never imagined. This is yet another example of our system’s focus on working to meet the needs of each individual student in the parish.”
President Larry Lachney announced Mayor Ryan Leday Williams and City Clerk/Treasurer/Tax Collector Donald Bergeron as potential new members for the second time.