Tuesday, August 11, was the first day of school for Allen Parish teachers. Students will begin on Thursday, August 20, and the Allen Parish School Board learned leaders have worked hard to prepare plans for any type of school year on Monday evening, August 10.
Superintendent Kent Reed updated board members on the steps being taken to prepare the classroom for the return of students in a normal schedule or alternating days, as well as a possible virtual classroom. He thanked everyone, especially administrators and supervisors for their hard work to put the plans together.
His update on the work at the Kinder schools included completed projects included the fifth grade classrooms and new counselor/bookkeeper office at Kinder Elementary and Kinder Middle and cafeteria coolers, freezers and dry storage now in service at Kinder High.
Reed told board members the ceiling grid was being installed in the cafeteria for the elementary and middle schools. Coolers, freezers and dry storage should be ready by the end of August, and cafeteria equipment should be in place by August 24th. The completion date is mid September, but Reed said they would wait to see what happens. He said the plans called to reuse the insulation in the cafeteria ceiling but after inspecting it, the insulation may not be usable. He said he would probably return next month with a change order for new insulation.
At the high school, 20 classrooms should be ready this week. “They look really nice,” he said. Within the month, he expected the new gym roof to be completed and work inside moving along.
Reed asked several supervisors to give reports including:
•Michelle Wagnon, early childhood coordinator, said enrollment was up for pre-K students with two spaces available in Fairview, about 10 in Kinder and at full capacity in Reeves and Elizabeth from the numbers they have been able to compile.
•Kenney Courville, supervisor: CW&A, transportation and special services, who thanked Sheriff Doug Hebert III and Homeland Security for providing 7,500 cloth masks, 7,500 disposable masks, 50 face shields and 600 bottles of hand sanitizer at no cost to the district.
•Lori Lemons, instructional supervisor (5-8), Title II, Title IV, Title IX, gave an update on Graduation Index Scores, which were based on the 2019 rate. The district is at 95.1 percent, the highest it has been in some time, she said.
•Kim Rider, CTE and technology coordinator, Carl Perkins, introduced Heather Cross, Oakdale Middle School, to demonstrate a sample Google™ classroom lesson.
Cross pointed out the lesson will give directions, learning targets, etc. for students and parents, when learning at home. The lessons also can be utilized in the classroom. In a virtual setting, she can give comments and directions to one or all students, can shorten assignments for some, add her own interactive resources like videos and reading material, divide students into subgroups to work on assignments, etc. The program will provide links to interactive materials for the lesson.
Reed also said he has assigned supervisors to each school for the first day-and-a-half of school to assist with any issues. After lunch on Friday, supervisors would return to the office for a meeting to discuss the start of the school year.
Reed said they were prepared to make adjustments. He said those choosing to move to at-home learning will have an opportunity to return to school after Friday, September 11, and at the end of the first nine weeks.
He said most classrooms will have 18 to 19 desks, some fewer, to meet the social distancing guidelines. The parish has about 1,000 students that will work from home.
In other business, the board approved advertising for a special education para at Oberlin Elementary, counsel for Oberlin Elementary and a parishwide maintenance worker, the latter which was added to the agenda.
Resolutions were approved by the board to call for special elections for 24.66 mills in Number One; 14.22 mills in Ward One; a 12.07 mills in Number Four; and 12.63 mills in Number Five.
The superintendent was given permission by the board to execute all documents in the sale of property in Reeves to Jason and Tara Lovejoy.
The board also authorized the superintendent to advertise for an official journal for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
