ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (BRPROUD) — The West Feliciana Parish 2022-2023 school year is ringing in many changes.
West Feliciana Parish School District Superintendent Hollis Milton said he is most excited about Baines Elementary School moving to a brand new building.
“This school is replacing the old Baines Elementary, it was built in 1960,” said Superintendent Milton.
Superintendent Milton said safety is priority. All schools have updated security cameras, improved lighting, resource officers and a controlled access system.
“In 2018, we renovated our offices with access control and buzz-in systems and redundancy system that required visitors to go through an additional door,” he said.”We are partnering with our local hospital to add EMS satellite near our schools.”
Superintendent Milton said their biggest safety measure is having a sheriff’s station within walking distance of all four schools in the parish.
“We want our sheriff’s department presence here,” he said. “They would be immediate and very efficient if so we needed them to be here.”
The school system has a communication system in place which allows complete robocalls, text messages and the use of social media. Also, all employees have an internal communication system through the use of cell phones, in case of emergency.
“We practice lockdown drills constantly. We talk to our people a lot about context, what decision they should make as far as lockdown as part of evacuation,” said Superintendent Milton.
Superintendent Milton said a new school raises expectations and a brighter future for the children.
A shining example of this is Baines Elementary alumni Hayley Arceneaux. She is the first Cajun and cancer survivor in space. The new building will honor Hayley with a mural and coins she took to space.
“We believe our kids should dream, they should soar, and this is where greatness begins,” said Superintendent Milton.
The first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 9.