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NEW ROADS, La. (AP) — The Pointe Coupee Parish School Board finally reached a decision on what to do with the now-closed Pointe Coupee Central High School campus.
The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1rDVNCb ) the next step is to get the approval of the federal judge who had closed the school.
The board on Thursday decided 6-2 to transform the school into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Arts Academy modeled after successful programs in Lafayette and Iberville parishes.
Central High was shut down in March for the 2014-15 school year by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady.
The state's Recovery School District, which ran the school for six years, asked the court in March to return jurisdiction of the school to the parish school system after the state failed to improve academic performance.
Students who were attending Central High were transferred this fall to Livonia High School.
School Superintendent Linda D'Amico originally presented board members with a proposal to transform Central into an early college/career academy that would offer students dual-enrollment opportunities, allowing them to earn high school diplomas and associate degrees simultaneously or industry-based certification that could jump-start their entry into the workforce.
But that plan was met with staunch criticism from several board members and a community group, which offered its own proposal a week ago to transform Central into a theme-based academy.
D'Amico said a STEM program appealed more to her as well since the district wouldn't be creating another standalone school, per se, that would be graded annually by the state Department of Education.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
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