Moving Forward

Continued improvement in education may be the most important element in building a successful economic development plan and in making everyday life better for everyone in St. Landry Parish, leaders say.

That’s why St. Landry education, economic, and government agencies have set a goal of creating a parish in which “students at every level and of every capacity have the fullest access to the best possible academic, career, and life education.”

“Ready access to a skilled and educated workforce is one of the highest priorities for business leaders when they look at a potential site for expansion. People thinking about relocating to a new site also look at the quality of education the children of their workers will receive,” according to economic development director Bill Rodier.

“But, aside from the economic factors, providing top-ranked educational opportunities is key to providing a good life for the people of the parish today and a better life for them in the future,” he said.

Rodier pointed to positive signs that local leaders and St. Landry citizens in general share that view, including the new St. Landry 

superintendent of schools and higher education leaders in the parish.

Patrick Jenkins, whose two and a half year contract as the new St. Landry superintendent of schools was approved November 3, has said one of his first goals will be developing relationships within the community and working with principals and teachers to create a meaningful improvement plan.

Also, postsecondary schools in the parish are expanding their course offerings and tailoring them to St. Landry’s particular needs, as well as providing programs that allow high school students to earn credits toward a college degree or career training certificate.

Jenkins, a 48-year-old native of St. Landry Parish told the school board that he will set a high priority on involving the whole parish in an effort to bring positive change to the school district.

“I want to get with my staff to evaluate the district,” he said. “I want to be able to look at everything before I make a decision on anything. The worst thing you can do is go in and start attacking things without proper information. It’s going to take the board, myself, the community, the staff members. It’s going to take everyone to move us forward, he said.”

Meanwhile, the selection of the chancellor of South Louisiana Community College as one of eight community college leaders nationwide to serve on the American Association of Community College’s executive committee is indicative of the growing esteem among peers of the south Louisiana system, including its T. H. Harris campus in Opelousas.

The AACC is the primary advocacy organization for community colleges in the United States. The association represents nearly 1,100 two-year, associate degree–granting institutions and more than 13 million students.

In recent months SLCC has announced a partnership between the T. H. Harris campus and the J. S. Clark Leadership Academy in Opelousas in which Clark students can take college courses taught by the SLCC faculty and at the same time fulfill high school course work taught by Clark faculty members.

Students can compress six years of learning into four years and earn associate of science degrees in business or general studies or technical diplomas in several career disciplines.

SLCC is also moving to expand its nursing education to include a Registered Nursing 

program, which vice chancellor Willie Smith said will help to fill a “tremendous need” here.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Education has recently selected LSU-Eunice as one of only 44 postsecondary institutions in the nation for an experimental program to allow high school students to take courses for college credit.

The program is designed to introduce students to college-level work, and also give them an incentive to continue their education after graduation from high school. It is part of the reason why LSU-E enrollment for the fall 2016 semester increased 15.9 percent over the fall of 2015.

Chancellor Kimberly Russell said the growing student population reflects LSU-E’s “commitment to providing greater access to quality higher education” for St. Landry students.

“Educators at every level understand the difference that good schools and good teachers can make in the life of a young person, and also in the life of the community as a whole,” Rodier said. “With the support of government and business leaders, as well as parents and the citizenry as a whole, they can make good things happen for our children and for the standard of life in St. Landry Parish.”