Alice Boucher Elementary is opening the 2025–26 school year with a new distinction, becoming the third Lafayette Parish campus to implement the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) model, made possible through a partnership between LPSS and the Pugh Family Foundation. With ACE comes tremendous opportunity for students, teachers, and families to experience growth and success supported by proven strategies.

The wait is over for Southside High School football fans. On Friday, students learned that their new stadium will officially be called “The Reef,” and they’ll get to fill its stands for the first time when the Southside Sharks open their season at home on Friday, September 5, 2025, against Notre Dame of Acadia Parish.

Construction on The Reef began in the spring of 2024. As of today, the $8.5 million stadium is play-ready and waiting to welcome fans for its historic debut.

The Lafayette Parish School System (LPSS), in partnership with Lafayette 911, hosted a joint demonstration this week of a new digital mapping system designed to enhance emergency response at all LPSS school facilities. This state-of-the-art system provides first responders with instant access to detailed layouts of every campus—supporting faster, more coordinated responses in the event of a crisis.

Developed proactively ahead of newly enacted state legislation, the system was in place even before the passage of Act 425 during the 2025 Regular Legislative Session, which now requires school facility mapping statewide. LPSS's forward-thinking approach continues to set the standard for school safety in Louisiana.