Beauregard Parish will have two different “first days” of schools. Those students who go to school four days a week will return on August 3rd. Everyone else who attends school five days a week will return on August 10th. We caught up with Superintendent Timothy J. Cooley ahead of the start of the school year.
Goals for the School System:
The Superintendent says safety is his number one priority for the upcoming school year. He tells us they’re also making a major step forward in their Literacy Project, especially in grades K- 3. He says they are also looking forward to face-to-face instruction and can’t wait to start the year.
Post Hurricane Recovery:
Most of their projects are in the completion stage, but they do have two major projects still underway. They’re in the process of bidding for a field house stadium at East Beauregard High School. They’re also in phase one of bringing back South Beauregard Upper Elementary to the point where the facilities can be used. The Superintendent tells us they’re in the middle of an $8.2 million dollar project and can’t wait to move out of the temporary buildings that have been on their campus for a year and a half. He says phase one also includes getting the cafeteria operational again.
COVID Guidelines:
Beauregard Parish says they’re following the state’s COVID guidelines. They do not have any vaccination rules in place but will continue to update the guidelines based off what the state advises.
Security:
Beauregard Parish officials have visited each campus over the summer and toured each facility with school leaders. They looked for problem areas as they worked to secure the campuses even more. They do want to increase some of the measures they already have in place, such as doors that you need to be “buzzed” in for, shading on windows, and installing more fencing. They have officers stationed in three different areas of the parish that rotate among the schools.
Lunch:
All students in Beauregard Parish will have to qualify for free lunch by using their family’s household income.
https://www.kplctv.com/2022/08/02/beauregard-parish-goes-back-school/