NATIONAL FIRM PERFORMING COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DISTRICT’S ORGANIZATIONAL AND SALARY STRUCTURE

Livingston Parish Public Schools has contracted with LEAN Frog Business Solution, Inc., to perform an independent review of the district’s organizational structure and current salary schedule to gain greater direction in enhancing the district’s effectiveness, sustainability, and success at all levels.

The firm is expected to present a report on its assessments early next year.

LEAN Frog is a nationally recognized expert in providing operational and programmatic assessments of educational organizations. The firm’s professional team has collaborated with nearly 160 school districts across the Southeast United States, as well as state departments of education in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

“This is a very tedious, painstaking task they are undertaking,” Superintendent Joe Murphy said. “The hired professionals are reviewing our system structure, they have interviewed our administrators and campus leaders for greater insight, and they are providing us with comparisons to our peer school systems.”

Murphy said the contract calls for LEAN Frog to review the district’s Central Office functions, analyze the district’s current salary schedules for positions, identify cost saving measures through improvements in organizational and operational efficacy, and provide a roadmap to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the district organizational and compensation structure.

SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS AVID SHOWCASE

Springfield High School Principal Jillian Dupuy, standing far right, presents the successes of her school’s experience with the AVID program during a showcase sponsored by AVID in November.  Attending the presentation were school administrators and teachers from New Orleans charter schools and the Livingston, East Baton Rouge, and Jackson parish school systems.

School administrators and teachers from New Orleans charter schools and the Livingston, East Baton Rouge, and Jackson parish school systems visited Springfield High School in November to learn about its campus-wide AVID learning initiative.

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and it is an in-school academic support program designed to instill those skills necessary for eligibility and success in higher education. The AVID Showcase at Springfield High School (SHS) is the first sponsored by the AVID program in Louisiana.

“This program is aimed at students who have the desire and willingness to work for academic success, but they may not have the skills they need to flourish scholastically. Many of the students who participate in AVID are from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education or they will be the first in their families to attend college,” SHS Principal Jillian Dupuy said.

Dupuy said the program targets those B/C students who have 2.0-3.5 GPAs who exhibit a willingness to achieve. They may be low-income and come from families that do not have a college background.

SHS first implemented an AVID elective course last school year for freshman. Those students were required to take at least one Advanced Placement or Honors Course during the year as part of the program.

“Our AVID students collectively improved their GPAs to an average of 3.51 by the end of the fall semester, and then they jumped to a 3.76 GPA average by the end of their freshman year,” Dupuy said.

The program was expanded this year to include a tenth-grade elective course. The school plans to add an eleventh-grade AVID elective class next year and another for twelfth-grade students by the 2025-2026 school year.

JUBAN PARC ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES DESIGNATION AS NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL

Juban Parc Elementary fifth graders, pictured left to right, Tatum Burns, Emma Kruszynsky, Thomas Ewing and Ezra Bourg carry the school’s Blue Ribbon banner during the school parade as parents, school leaders and community guests lined along the hallway.

Parents and school leaders enjoyed a festive environment at Juban Parc Elementary School on Nov. 30 as the school celebrated its designation as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Students and staff paraded through the school’s hallways, carrying banners, shakers, and balloons, and marching to a loud rhythmic beat provided by the Denham Springs High School drum line.

“This is a great day for our school community. It’s an opportunity to celebrate much hard work and accomplishment for our school,” said Juban Parc Elementary Principal Lauren Kennedy.

The Louisiana Department of Education lists Juban Parc Elementary as an “A-rated” school with a 94.7 School Performance Score, according to the state’s 2023 accountability report. At the same time, the state has given the school a Progress Index score of 106, which recognizes the school’s success in closing the achievement among all its students.

A total of 313 schools were honored this year nationwide. Juban Parc Elementary is one of nine schools in Louisiana named as a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School.

Livingston Parish School leaders and administrators with Juban Parc Elementary School traveled to Washington D.C. earlier in November to attend a special National Blue Ribbon reception.

Jeff Frizell, District 3

• Newly elected to office, began serving in January 2023
• More than 20 years of experience in Livingston Parish Public Schools as a teacher, coach school administrator and central office supervisor
• Currently the Practice Administrator for the Bond-Wroten Eye Cinic, which has offices in Denham Springs, Hammond, and Amite
• Recipient of the 2015 Louisiana School of Executives Educational Leadership Award, the 2017 Livingston Parish Principal of the Year, and a 2017 Louisiana Principal of the Year semifinalist
• A graduate of Denham Springs High School who earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and master’s degree in education leadership from Southeastern Louisiana University
• Married to Amy Feucht Frizell, who teaches at Northside Elementary
• Father to Mallory (20), a graduate of Denham Springs High School and student at Southeastern Louisiana University, and Ava (15) a student at Denham Springs Freshman High School
• The Frizell Family attends Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs

“Never let the fear of striking out get in the your way.” -Babe Ruth