New goals face Lafayette school superintendent

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Lafayette's new school Superintendent Pat Cooper says he'll present the district's goals, proposed by system employees and community members, to the school board by April 1.

Over the next few weeks, The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/yKmxrQ ) teams that Cooper described as "task forces" will analyze three areas of district operations: academics, health and wellness and facilities.

Cooper has been on the job for about a month. During his initial meeting with the school board on Jan. 4, he presented members with his own to-do list that set timelines for presenting district improvement and reorganization plans by April.

The list included the superintendent's recommendations for increasing the high school completion rates with a focus on early childhood programs, school health and wellness services, and an alternative secondary education program for middle- and high-school students with behavior problems.

Cooper said the task forces will consider existing operations, ideal or desired operations and the resources needed for the change.

That information will guide a district-wide plan and will be presented to the board before its budget process begins, Cooper said.

The school board begins the first of its budget workshops April 17.

The academic task force is an "umbrella" committee for subgroups that will analyze several topics, said Sandra Billeaudeau, principal of N.P. Moss Annex.

Cooper tagged Billeaudeau, who is a certified school turnaround specialist, to oversee special projects such as the task force effort and the turnaround plan for Northside High.

The academic subcommittees will consider: school-to-career, early childhood, alternative programs, professional development, regular education, instructional technology, tutorial academic opportunities and mentoring and the arts.

Meetings with the chairmen of the academic and health and wellness teams began last week, she said.

"The facilities task force is in the preliminary stages because academics and health and wellness (findings) will drive facilities," Billeaudeau said.

Members of the community oversight committee, selected to oversee the implementation of the district's master plan, will serve on the facilities task force, Billeaudeau said.

The oversight committee includes several members of the Community Coalition for Lafayette Schools, which pushed the board to hire a professional firm to create a facilities master plan.

The same committee proposed a property tax increase to fund the initial implementation of the plan, but voters rejected the $560 million bond measure in October.

The district isn't waiting on some facility decisions, Billeaudeau said.

"What we are addressing is health and safety — those concerns in the schools right now," she said. "Then, we'll move into more planning."

The academic task force is an "umbrella" committee for subgroups that will analyze several topics, said Sandra Billeaudeau, principal of N.P. Moss Annex.

Cooper tagged Billeaudeau, who is a certified school turnaround specialist, to oversee special projects such as the task force effort and the turnaround plan for Northside High.

The academic subcommittees will consider: school-to-career, early childhood, alternative programs, professional development, regular education, instructional technology, tutorial academic opportunities and mentoring and the arts.

Meetings with the chairmen of the academic and health and wellness teams began last week, she said.

"The facilities task force is in the preliminary stages because academics and health and wellness (findings) will drive facilities," Billeaudeau said.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com