Superintendent announces South Live Oak Elementary named Louisiana Blue Ribbon School; BESE testing changes flagged for local planning

Superintendent Jody Purvis announced that South Live Oak Elementary has been recognized as a Louisiana Blue Ribbon School, and he told the Livingston Parish School Board that the change is a state-level recognition of academic performance and progress in closing achievement gaps.

"South Live Oak Elementary was recognized as a Louisiana, Blue Ribbon School," Purvis said, noting the recognition comes from the National Blue Ribbon Program previously administered by the U.S. Department of Education and now handled by states. He said eight schools statewide received the honor and that the district will issue a release and later hold a celebration for school staff.

Purvis also briefed the board on recent changes adopted by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) regarding high-school testing. He said BESE reduced the number of high-school end-of-course tests, combining math and English assessments so students will take fewer exams: "Instead of taking algebra 1 and geometry, the students will now take 1 math test ... at the end of the sophomore year," and a similar consolidation will apply to English assessments.

Purvis said the change was adopted recently and will affect students who will be freshmen in the 2026-27 school year (current eighth graders), and that the district has questions about how course sequencing and curriculum will need to change. He told the board he had been invited to speak to the governor's drug policy board to share local work and asked for a curriculum and policy committee and a budget and goals committee meeting on Nov. 3 to prepare before the Nov. 6 board meeting.

Board members agreed to try to schedule the committee meetings; Purvis said specific times and participant availability would be confirmed.