In July of 2017, the Lafayette Parish School System will open the Edward J. Sam Accelerated School of Lafayette. The school was established to meet the growing needs of students who would benefit from a non-traditional school setting. The school will service students in grades 7-12 year-round, who are between the ages of 15 and 21, who plan to graduate with a high school diploma. The school will also offer students the opportunity to earn industry-based credentials as well as dual enrollment credits.
The curriculum uses a blended learning model, integrating online content from Edgenuity while providing traditional classroom support, research-based interventions, and tutoring. Edgenuity is aligned with the Louisiana Student Standards and can be customized to meet the needs of each student. It also allows the option of pre-testing at the beginning of each unit to deliver only the content which the student has not already mastered. This allows students to accelerate their progress toward graduation. Edgenuity lessons are also available in Spanish.
The students will use Chromebooks to work through Edgenuity content. Central Office and Edward J. Sam administrators are working closely with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to identify and provide tiered supports to ensure students are afforded every possible opportunity for success.
In addition, the new school will offer flexible instructional time, small class sizes, an onsite child development center for students who are parenting, and counseling and support for emotional and social issues.
The school is located at the W. D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center campus. The buildings have been renovated with enhanced lighting, new furniture, and computers. Students will have a 1:1 learning environment on campus regarding technology.
Principal Jody Duhon is now accepting applications for admission. Any student or parent interested in learning more about the Edward J. Sam Accelerated School of Lafayette should visit the website at www.lpssonline.com/ejsam or call at 337.521.7560.