In the fall of 2024, the Lafayette Parish School System (LPSS) engaged Civic Solutions Group (CSG) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the district’s operations, known as district optimization. The primary goal is to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently to meet the needs of today’s students.
Key Areas of Focus: During Phase I of the evaluation, input from stakeholder surveys and community meetings highlighted several priority areas:
- Teacher and staff compensation
- Equitable funding to support student success
- Academic excellence
- Adequate and well-maintained facilities
- Positive school culture
CSG has used this feedback, along with data, context, values, and their own expertise, to develop initial recommendations for LPSS.
Phase II: Community Engagement As the process continues, Phase II will provide additional opportunities for the community to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Below, you’ll find the specific ways to get involved.
CSG will present their final recommendations to the Lafayette Parish School Board for approval during the November 20 meeting. Updates will be provided by LPSS as we navigate the process.
Community engagement is a critical part of the District Optimization process, and we want to hear from you! This site includes a link to a community survey and upcoming town halls. Interested participants can also email us with questions and feedback at districtplanning@lpssonline.com.
a. Additional information: Acadian MS has the second-lowest rate of zoned students attending the school of any LPSS school. The school has consistently low enrollment that could fit into the available capacity at Paul Breaux MS or Carencro MS. Acadian MS has a higher cost per student, lower rate of parents choosing the school, and similar or worse academic performance than either receiving school.
Current Acadian MS students that are zoned to Carencro HS will attend Carencro MS. Current Acadian MS students that are zoned to Northside HS will be zoned to Paul Breaux MS. Those students currently living in the Acadian MS zone that will be zoned to Paul Breaux MS will attend a new campus after construction is completed. The gymnasium at Acadian MS can be reused for other district or community purposes. Spanish immersion programming currently at Acadian MS could follow students to either Paul Breaux MS or Carencro MS.
b. Schools involved:
i. Acadian MS
ii. Carencro MS
iii. Paul Breaux MS
a. Additional information: Alice Boucher ES meets one of four District Optimization priorities due to a high percentage of families zoned to the school choosing to attend. The school has consistently low academic performance and is located in a census tract with one of the highest concentrations of poverty in Lafayette Parish. Initial academic and outcomes data show success of ACE programming at Baranco ES and J.W. Faulk ES. The students in these three schools can be accommodated in two campuses.
If all recommendations are enacted, students in all three schools will have a clear PK-12 pathway from Truman Early Childhood → ACE programming → Paul Breaux at Northside → Northside HS.
b. Schools involved:
i. Alice Boucher ES
ii. JW Faulk
iii. Baranco
a. Additional information: Middlebrook ES meets all four District Optimization priorities. Despite this, the school has lost enrollment in recent years, making it a good candidate to receive students. Moving Katharine Drexel ES students to Middlebrook ES will place students in a higher quality and higher-performing facility. Adding arts programming to Middlebrook will make it a natural partner with L.J. Alleman MS.
b. Schools involved:
i. Cpl. Middlebrook ES
a. Additional information: Students living near the school will have enrollment preference for up to 25% of all available seats in the lottery, and must meet any existing admission requirements. Neighborhood boundaries will be determined by LPSS after District Optimization recommendations have been adopted. This enrollment preference will not impact students currently enrolled at the school.
b. Schools involved:
i. J. Wallace James ES
ii. L. Leo Judice ES
iii. Myrtle Place ES
iv. David Thibodaux STEM HS
a. Additional information: Duson's cost per pupil is the most expensive elementary school operating at $2,533 per student above the elementary threshold. This is due in part to Duson's small permanent capacity of 210 students, forcing the school to utilize portables. Any efforts to increase enrollment at the school would require additional portable facilities.
More than 36% of students zoned to Duson are currently attending other LPSS schools. Rezoning students to Burke, Ossun, and Westside will increase efficiency at the receiving campuses. All rezoning will be completed by LPSS after District Optimization recommendations have been adopted.
LPSS and the City of Duson should partner to use the Duson ES facility in a way that continues to benefit the community.
b. Schools involved:
i. Duson ES
ii. Charles Burke ES
iii. Ossun ES
iv. Westside ES
a. Additional information: The Ernest Gallet campus meets three of four District Optimization priorities and is a five-minute drive from the Youngsville MS campus. Green T. Lindon is two blocks from Youngsville MS.
Incorporating additional STEM programming into the Gallet and Youngsville campuses is responsive to significant parent demand across the district. This recommendation grants rising fifth graders access to accelerated programming and extracurricular activities at the current Youngsville MS campus.
b. Schools involved:
i. Ernest Gallet ES
ii. Green T. Lindon ES
iii. Youngsville MS
a. Additional information: The Katharine Drexel campus recently constructed a new wing that can accommodate a significant number of PK students. Moving all PK students in the region to the Katharine Drexel campus (similar to Truman) will provide PK students with a high quality facility and create additional K-5 capacity at popular and higher-performing elementary schools.
The elementary schools that receive current Katharine Drexel students in grades K-5 (Billeaud, Middlebrook, Gallet) are all higher-performing campuses and will become more efficient.
b. Schools involved:
i. Martial Billeaud ES
ii. Katharine Drexel ES
iii. Ernest Gallet ES
iv. Cpl. Middlebrook ES
v. Milton ES
vi. Green T Lindon ES
a. Additional information: Lafayette MS does not meet any of the District Optimization priorities set by the Lafayette Parish School Board, and only ~56% of the students zoned to the school attend. All three receiving schools are higher-performing academically, have a greater percentage of zoned parents attending, and meet between one and four of the priorities. All rezoning will be completed by LPSS after District Optimization recommendations have been adopted.
The Lafayette MS campus will be repurposed as Lafayette Elementary and will accommodate students from S.J. Montgomery. Those students currently living in the Lafayette MS zone that will be zoned to Paul Breaux MS will attend a new campus after construction of a 6th-12th campus at Northside HS is completed.
b. Schools involved:
i. LJ Alleman MS
ii. Paul Breaux MS
iii. Lafayette MS
iv. Scott MS
a. Additional information: Paul Breaux MS is one of the oldest MS campuses and has not received a major addition since 1975. Northside HS is the oldest traditional HS in Lafayette and has not received a major addition since 1981. Enrollment at Northside has increased by 14% and its SPS has increased by 13.5 points since 2018-19, though the campus still has 600+ vacant seats. Adding fine arts and/or selective admissions programming at Northside will be responsive to parent demand across the district. Investing in Northside HS is consistent with citywide economic development plans for the area.
Building a 6th-8th and 9th-12th campus that accommodates students zoned to Paul Breaux MS gives middle school students access to accelerated programming and extracurricular activities at the Northside HS campus. The LPSB should implement a community-driven process to determine the name and branding of the 6th-8th and 9th-12th campuses.
b. Schools involved:
i. Paul Breaux MS
ii. Northside HS
a. Additional Information: Comeaux HS enrollment has decreased by ~500 students since 2018-19. Only 66% of zoned students attend the school, a significantly lower rate than receiving schools in this recommendation. The Comeaux facility meets the "Facility Investment" District Optimization priority due to investments in its performing arts wing, but the poor facility condition of the rest of the campus was a consistent theme of the community engagement process.
The Comeaux facility can be repurposed in multiple ways, including a Career Center, alternative setting, and/or MS athletic and arts facility. This recommendation maximizes the number of seats filled at newer campuses and also takes the E.J. Sam facility offline;
b. Schools involved:
i. Acadiana HS
ii. Comeaux HS
iii. Lafayette HS
iv. Southside HS
a. Additional information: S.J. Montgomery does not meet any of the District Optimization priorities. The poor facility condition of the campus was a consistent theme of the community engagement process. This recommendation will move all students to higher quality facilities and similarly- or higher-performing campuses.
b. Schools involved:
i. Lafayette MS
ii. Live Oak ES
iii. SJ Montgomery ES
iv. Woodvale ES
a. Arts programming at the elementary and MS level is the most popular programming within the district by a wide margin--J. Wallace James received ~800 applications and has a facility usage of 98%;
b. STEM programming at the MS and elementary levels is the second-most popular programming for families, and is considerably more popular than language immersion or other programs;
c. Cpl. Middlebrook, Gallet, Lindon, Evangeline, Live Oak, and elementary/middle schools in 70501 are all strong candidates for new Arts and STEM programming.
a. High school magnet programming should be reviewed and aligned to both community demand and new School Performance Score changes for high schools;
b. Geographic misalignment of existing magnet programs limits program continuity;
c. Currently, there is no magnet programming in the Southside HS enrollment zone and limited elementary magnet programming in Northside enrollment zone;
d. Opportunities exist to consolidate language immersion programming across PK and elementary sites
a. Community Feedback Sessions placed an emphasis on the need to measure and build school culture at all LPSS schools. LPSS should consider engaging a vendor to conduct annual School Culture and Climate Surveys and take action based on the data.
b. Surveys and Community Feedback Sessions recognized that not all facilities can be new, but emphasized the need for a consistent standard of care for all facilities.
i. LPSS should engage with a partner to develop a Facilities Master Plan for ongoing maintenance and construction.
ii. The LPSS should develop a Facilities Condition Index for all schools and a Facilities Disposition Policy to be followed for all excess properties.
c. LPSS should develop a comprehensive school performance framework to apply to every school on an annual basis that assesses the quality of schools through evaluating student outcomes in order to place more students in higher-performing schools.
Date: Monday, October 28th
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Northside High School
Date: Tuesday, October 29th
Time: 6:00pm
Locations: Acadiana High School & Southside High School
- July Community Feedback Session Presentation
- July Community Feedback Sessions Summary of Discussion
- More community engagement opportunities TBA
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