Evangeline Parish School Board approves Lunch with Law Enforcement program

The Evangeline Parish School District will begin allowing law enforcement officers to join students and school personnel for lunch, after the school board voted, unanimously, Wednesday, October 17th, to support this effort to show appreciation to law enforcement.
The proposal for this program was presented to the board by Evangeline Parish School Superintendent Darwan Lazard and Child Nutrition Program Director Karen Soileau, and will allow law enforcement officers from various agencies to enjoy a complimentary lunch at any school cafeteria on selected days of the month.
“We truly appreciate the hard-work and sacrifice of our law enforcement partners who server Evangeline Parish. This is an opportunity for us to share with law enforcement officials and invite them onto EPSB campuses throughout this parish,” said Superintendent Lazard. “I want our students to know that law enforcement officers are an important part of keeping our schools, cities, towns, village, unincorporated areas, and neighborhoods safe and secure; they are our friends, neighbors, and community members.”
This program is slated to begin on Thursday, November 1st, at all EPSB campuses. Lunch will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Officers that will be allowed to receive a meal at local school include law enforcement agency heads, deputies from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office, Game Wardens from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, troopers with Louisiana State Police, Ward I/City of Ville Platte Marshals, and police officers from Basile, Chataignier, Mamou, Pine Prairie, Turkey Creek and Ville Platte.
According to Superintendent Lazard, law enforcement officers may wear their uniform or plainclothes, with the proper identification, on campus.
For more information about this program, call the superintendent’s office at (337) 363-6651.
During the meeting Wednesday, the school board also heard from Special Education Supervisor Kelli LaFleur and Assistant Superintendent Mike Lombas, who shared an update on curriculum and instruction observations.
LaFleur performed a walk through of the new observation system, which is now completely online.
Lombas then shared principals have been asked to dedicate 45 minutes a day to conducting these new observations in an effort to get a better overview of what is going on in the classroom. He said, “This is intended to be a guide to improve a teacher’s instruction time for the students. It is just another tool to help them.”
The assistant superintendent also informed the board that they are panning to meet with principals this coming week to better explain the new observation process so they can explain it to the teachers.
At the meeting, the board also approved its meeting dates for the next three months. Those dates are November 14th, December 12th, and January 16th. All meetings begin at 6:00 p.m.