August 2010
East Baton Rouge Parish School System
A SACS-Accredited School Distric
 
You think you know East Baton Rouge Parish Schools?  THINK AGAIN!
 
In This Issue 
 
East Baton Rouge Parish School System Begins 2010-2011 School Year
 
Highland Elementary Takes 'Open House' on the Road with Community Walk
 
45 Volunteers Turn Out for Brookstown Back-to-School Walkabout
 
List of Academically Unacceptable East Baton Rouge Public Schools Continues to Decline
 
Volunteers, Teachers, Students, Parents, Sponsors Fill 3.5 Schol Buses During 2010 WBRZ-TV2 Stuff the Bus with School Supplies Campaign
 
Students, Staff and VIPs Shovel the First Layer of Soil to Kick Off Construction of the New Claiborne Elementary School
Quick Links
Calendar of Events 

August 14 - 8 a.m. District 3 Back-to-School Breakfast with School Board member Darryl Robertson at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 9700 Scenic Hwy.

August 16 - 5 p.m. School Board Special Meeting at the Board Room, 1050 S. Foster Dr. 
 
August 19 - 5 p.m. Regular School Board Meeting at the Board Room, 1050 S. Foster Dr.
 

 

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First Day 2010

 
Beginning at 7:10 a.m. August 11, the 2010-2011 school year officially started in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS).  That meant about 42,000 students and about 3,500 teachers hit the hallowed halls of all 86 public school sites in the parish to start a new year of learning.

Teachers, school staff, administrators, volunteers and principals were at their posts early in the morning to greet students and their parents, direct them to breakfast or classrooms and welcome them on the first day of school.  Superintendent John Dilworth made the rounds, as well, visiting as many schools as his schedule allowed during the day.
Highland Elementary Takes 'Open House' on the Road with Community Walk 
 
Highland Walk 2010About 25 staff of Highland Elementary School took their "open house" to the streets Monday morning, August 9, by visiting students' homes around the school's neighborhood.  A school bus took them to various areas of the Gardere community, where staff visited parents' and guardians' homes door to door for the ninth year running.  Principal Kaye Van Sickle said volunteers reminded families that school starts this week and to make sure they register for school.  School staff visiting homes included (pictured, left to right):  Kendra Justice, Kara Bristow, Stacy Landry, Joyce Laudianna, Patricia Clement and Monica Brown.   
45 Volunteers Turn Out for Brookstown Back-to-School Walkabout 
 
Brookstown Walk 2010About 45 volunteers decked out in special T-shirts visited with residents of the Brookstown Community on Saturday, August 7, to remind families school starts this Wednesday, August 11, in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.

Although the weather was warm, greetings were even warmer from the volunteers, who represented the School System, Brookstown Elementary School, the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office and law enforcement.  Leading each group of four to five volunteers were representative's of the district's Child Welfare & Attendance (CWA) Office, the first line of defense in preventing truancy and assisting those with issues causing truancy. 
List of Academically Unacceptable East Baton Rouge Public Schools Continues to Decline   

According to a report released July 27 by the Louisiana Department of Education, East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS) schools continue to improve.  Four EBRPSS schools have been taken out of the state's Academically Unacceptable Schools (AUS) status. 
Volunteers, Teachers, Students, Parents, Sponsors Fill 3.5 School Buses During 2010 WBRZ-TV 2 Stuff the Bus with School Supplies Campaign  
  
Stuff the Bus 2010At the end of the day July 14, three-and-a-half school buses were jammed pack with school supplies graciously donated by the community for needy students - and more was left over in storage.

The third annual WBRZ-TV 2 Stuff the Bus with School Supplies campaign was a rousing success thanks to volunteers from Volunteers In Public Schools, including Exxon-Mobil, Aramark, Community Coffee, Dudley Debosier Injury Lawyers, Price LeBlanc Toyota, the Kiwanis Club, students, bus drivers, teachers, principals; WBRZ staff; and the event's major sponsors, Raising Cane's and Office Depot.
 
Students, Staff and VIPs Shovel the First Layer of Soil to Kick Off Construction of the New Claiborne Elementary School
 
ces groundbreaking pic 2010Despite a slightly muddy work site due to rain, about 40 community members, school district and school staff, School Board members and students turned out May 26 for a special groundbreaking ceremony.  At 4700 Denham St., the location of the now demolished former Claiborne Elementary School, adult VIPs used gold shovels while students wielded smaller red shovels to kick off construction on the new Claiborne Elementary School.
 
 
Awards
  
 
This summer, the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries awarded $1,098,634 in grants to 188 school libraries, including four East Baton Rouge Parish School System schools.  Librarians (pictured, left to right) Neveena Bengston of Scotlandville Middle Pre-Engineering Academy, Kimberly Naquin-Neucere of Broadmoor Middle School, Barbara Bevis of Arlington Preparatory Academy and Sandra Harrison of Highland Elementary School each received a $6,000 award to update, extend and diversify the book and print collections at their schools. 
 
Teachers Visit South Africa toBelaire B&G Award Winner
Share Music Education Ideas
 
Vonda Rogers-Cooper and Doretha F. Williams were selected to travel to South Africa this month by the People to People Citizen's Ambassador Program for Music Education.  They currently are traveling to cities in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  The purpose of the trip is to share their expertise on music education and discuss new approaches and ideas with their counterparts of South Africa.  They will be able to gain insight into the solutions other countries and communities have developed in response to similar problems.
 
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John Dilworth, Superintendent of Schools
Chris Trahan, Director for Communications & Community Engagement
Sonya Gordon, Public Information Officer/eNews Editor
Demetris Blakes, Webmaster and Special Events Coordinator