APSBulletin - September 2022
SCHOOL BOARD
Honoray Lewis, Ward 1
Lee Meyer Jr, Ward 2
Andrea Barras, Ward 3
Electa Fletcher-Mickens, Ward 4
Jesse Robertson, Ward 5
Daniel Washington, Ward 6
Bambi Hood, Ward 7
Jessica Ourso, Ward 8
Doris Dugas, Ward 9
CALENDAR
Nov. 8 – Election Day
Nov. 21-25 – No Classes, Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov. 29-Dec. 16 – Fall LEAP Retest for Grades 9-12
Dec. 7 – Half Day of Classes for Students, Professional Development for Teachers Half Day
Dec. 20 – 2nd Grading Period Ends
Dec. 21-Jan. 3 – No Classes, Christmas & New Year’s Holidays
Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy is seeking volunteers to attend quarterly meetings to help organize district-level school community events, advise him on community school needs and receive school system updates.
Applicants must be willing to be actively involved in the discussions and actively participate in volunteer opportunities for school communities. Applications are available online at http://ow.ly/kw4u50KqIrV.
Teachers Hold Two-Day Professional Development Workshop
Teachers throughout Assumption Parish gathered in small groups on September 15 and 16 to collaborate and learn new strategies on how to help their students improve their learning skills, stay on pace with academic expectations and improve their social and emotional skills. At the same time, many administrators also strengthened the crisis management plans for their campuses to ensure student safety is addressed at every level.
“Our district set aside two full days to allow our teachers to work together, as well as consultant with outside education specialists to improve their day-to-day performance,” Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy said.
“This heightened focus on professional development is part of our district’s overall strategic plan to improve academic performance in all our schools. At the same time, we wanted to review all safety measures on our campuses and update our crisis plans to make sure we are doing all we can to take care of our students,” Barthelemy said.
Head Start teachers focused on social and emotional learning for their youngsters; Pre-K teachers improved their assessment skills; Grades K-3 teacher focused on the science of reading, to ensure the district is aligning with state mandates, and Grades 4-12 teachers broke into small groups by content area, separated into math, science, social studies, and English/language arts.
Administrators from each campus participated in crisis management sessions to review their school’s response plans.
Picture on left: Teachers at Assumption High School recently participated in a two-day professional development workshop that focused on their individual content areas. Pictured around the discussion table, from left to right, are AHS teachers Jasmine Cox, Scottie Brister, Jon Dugas and Phillip Benoit.
Picture on right: Early elementary educators were given professional instruction in using “Keys to Literacy” to improve their understanding of teaching the fundamental skills of reading to their students. The State Legislature recently enacted legislation requiring teachers and school administrators in Grades K-3 to complete an approved development course in the science of reading. Those teachers pictured, from left to right, are Rose Jamison of Bayou L’Ourse Primary; Ginger Bryan of Pierre Part Elementary; Megan Oncale of Napoleonville Primary School; and Paula Theriot of Napoleonville Primary School. The teachers participated in the collaborative workshop on Sept. 15-16.
District Moves Forward on Safety Plan
Assumption Parish Schools ordered 15 metal detectors from Garrett Metal Detector out of Texas. The school is currently working with contractors to have them put on the campuses.
District leaders are currently working with contractors to make safety improvements to campuses as part of the district’s safety plan that has been in motion since before the start of the new school year. The plan includes improvements to all campuses and buildings.
In particular, 15 metal detectors will be installed -- placing one at each elementary campus and two at the middle schools and high school in the parish. Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy said those detectors, which were ordered from Garrett Metal Detectors in Texas, cost $40,000.
The plan also includes tightening up entrances and changing locks. Hand-held metal detector wands are also being made available, and schools plan to add Zero Eyes smart cameras.
“Our leadership worked closely with local law enforcement over the summer to determine the best, first steps in making our campuses safer. Part of that effort was to order metal detectors,” Dr. Barthelemy said. “We are hoping to get those detectors fully installed in the coming weeks.”
Dr. Barthelemy noted that the metal detectors had been scheduled to arrive last month, but the company reported it had been flooded with orders from school districts from across the country that were also improving their security.