Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Grade Reassignment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
School board approves moving sixth grade from Fairview Alpha to Lakeview for 2025-26 after community debate
Summary
After public comment and debate about safety and academic impact, the board approved moving sixth graders from Fairview Alpha to Lakeview Junior-Senior High for the 2025-26 school year, making Fairview PK–5 and Lakeview grades 6–12.
The Natchitoches Parish School Board on March 13 approved a plan to move sixth grade from Fairview Alpha Elementary to Lakeview Junior-Senior High for the 2025-26 school year, creating a PK–5 Fairview and a 6–12 Lakeview.
Parents and staff urged the board to reconsider or supply additional data. "They're not emotionally ready. Mentally ready to be there," said Brian Jones, a parent who described concern for students’ readiness for a campus that also serves older adolescents. Molly McNeely, master teacher at Fairview, spoke for Principal Brooke Williams and asked whether the district had run simulations of how the change would affect School Performance Scores (SPS). She asked the board to table the item until data are provided.
Superintendent Dr. Eloy told the board the administration had not yet run SPS simulations but said staff are capable of producing them and would deliver results by a later board meeting or at a board retreat. "We are capable of doing simulations... it would be something that we would have to get to y'all, over the course of probably perhaps, definitely by another board meeting," he said.
Board members discussed safety and separation of younger students from older ones on the Lakeview campus. "They are on the same campus, but physically separate from the high school," a staff member said; another board member noted Lakeview has separate junior-high and high-school sides, two gyms and staggered schedules that would limit interactions.
The motion carried by roll call: eight members voted yes and two voted no. The board did not adopt any amendment to the plan at the meeting; staff were asked to provide simulations on SPS impact and to present logistics and safety plans to the board before the transition.
