Avoyelles School Board seeks 'school redesign' grant

Two organizations will be working in six of the Avoyelles Parish public schools to gather data needed to apply for a major grant, the School Board’s Education Committee was told at its May 9 meeting.

Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said he is excited about the potential the planning grant presents. The district has received a $40,000 planning grant to explore how it can work with potential partners in the school system. Once the planning work is done this summer, an application for the federal grant will be submitted.

The amount of the grant is not determined, but it will be “significant,” Elementary Education Supervisor Celeste Voinche told the committee.

It will be used in Bunkie, Cottonport, Marksville and Riverside elementary schools and Bunkie Magnet and Marksville high schools.

The federal funds are sent to the state, which then issues the grants to local school districts whose applications are approved.

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) will come into the district and review how the schools and school system can best use its resources -- money and personnel, Voinche said.

The ERS assessment and evaluation report could be the basis for future changes in the way the school system functions. ERS will look at several factors and present an assessment that accurately compares Avoyelles Parish with other districts of similar size and socio-economic demographics. That study is expected to be finished by July 15, Voinche said.

The other information-gathering group is Communities In Schools (CIS), an organization that believes supporting children and addressing barriers caused by poverty will improve academic outcomes in schools.

CIS will conduct a needs assessment and feasibility study in the six schools. Should grant funds be secured, CIS could be contracted to be a partner in the schools. If that happens, CIS will put a site coordinator in each school to coordinate services for students.

Dauzat stressed that CIS would not provide health or social services to students and would not bill Medicaid or health insurance for any services provided. The coordinator would be paid with grant funds. He said the program would not compete with any medical or mental health providers in the parish.

Dauzat said a team will go to a school in New Orleans to see how the CIS program operates in a school. There will also be a community meeting to discuss the school system’s needs and provide additional information to the public.

After the two organizations have completed their reports, school district officials will review the information and determine the focus of the grant application to secure funding for the plan.

Dauzat said he is particularly excited about the prospects the CIS program provides. He said its focus addresses issues the district has identified as factors affecting student achievement and schools’ “performance report cards.”

If a child comes to school hungry, in need of glasses or medical care, or needing appropriate clothing or shoes, the CIS coordinator will be able to refer the family to an agency for assistance.

“It will be an extra person on campus to coordinate those services for children,” Dauzat said.