Back to School 2024: Iberville school leaders discuss changes for transportation, safety
IBERVILLE PARISH, La. (BRPROUD) — All Louisiana school districts face challenges heading into the fall, but Iberville might be high on the list.
Superintendent Louis Voiron said this year will be a hard reset.
“We made a lot of changes last year throughout the district in terms of some curriculum items, along with leadership in our different campuses and leadership at our district level,” he said.
One of the major issues that has affected the school district is the Gross Tete Bridge being hit by a boat back in June. It’s been a temporary closure, with many parents and families concerned about how their children will be able to attend school.
After a community meeting last week, school leaders gave parents and families options for school transportation.
“We want to just make sure our parents have some options. You know, this is an unfortunate situation. Yeah, but willpower. Schools can’t do anything about the bridge. But what is in our control are the options that we all say to our parents for their children’s education to continue,” said Voiron.
Back to School 2024: High school reopens in City of Baker, campuses get new security updates
Another concern parents raised for the new school year is safety, stating they want to make sure their kids are safe when getting dropped on in the morning. Last year, a deadly Port Allen shooting at a football game prompted Voiron and Iberville leaders to see new ways they can create better security measures.
“We immediately implemented some much stricter security measures for our athletic events and other extracurricular events,” he said.
Now, everyone who enters the campus must be checked with their new metal detectors, school bags are searched every day, and more law enforcement has been made present. Another new option they’ve added is a new AI service called ‘Zero Eyes’, which can detect weapons and alert first responders to spring into action.
Voiron said they have more than 800 cameras installed in total across all schools.
“By the end of next school year, we’ll probably have over a thousand. But every camera in our district has this software on it,” he said.
He said their school website will soon be upgraded by August, allowing parents and their children, along with staff to be able to navigate the website with ease.
Voiron said they’ve also updated their dress code policies. Hoodies are no longer allowed to be worn indoors and girls are no longer allowed to wear skirts. He also stated they’ve updated their student handbook and sent out reminders to parents about the new cell phone ban that has taken effect in schools across the country. Voiron said their policy was also that way but made minor changes to comply with state law.
This is his second year leading the school district, and he said he’s hoping year two will live up to his expectations.
“I’m optimistic that we’re going to have a very good school year. We’re ready to get going,” said Voiron.
Click here for more information on the school’s calendar and updated policies.
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