Sunday Scoop with the Supe
August 13th, 2023
Week in Review and the Week Ahead from the Vermilion Central Office
From the desk of the Superintendent
In an effort to keep all informed, I am going to try and be consistent with a new form of communication newsletter called Sunday Scoop with the Supe. This will be an informational newsletter with general topics that cover the entire school system and calendar events that affect the whole parish. Individual school notices and dates should be found on the school websites or app.
Back to School - The Short Week Test Run
Over 8500 students, no kindergarten or pre-K, and 1300 employees embarked on the 23-24 school year this past week as we returned to school on Thursday. Our employee goal this year of "relentless pursuit" can be seen on the employee shirts and in many of our schools in many different arenas. An entire week of administrator and teacher in-services prior to this past Thursday set the tone for the school year.
As with any start of school, we experienced a lot of great things on day 1 and 2 and as expected have a list of issues that we will have to work through in the coming days. From car rider fixes, extreme temperatures on buses and preparing enough food in the cafeteria we appreciate the patience in trying to fix these issues. We know things are some times frustrating, but the uncertainty of student numbers, record high temperatures and a nationwide teacher shortage are sometimes beyond our control and we can only do our best to find alternative means to make adjustments. My team and I will continue to work hard and try to find solutions.
Thank you all for being a part of the Vermilion Parish School System and we look forward to working with you throughout the school year to provide the best education for our children of Vermilion Parish.
- Monday - August 14
- Pre-K and K Screenings - Schools should have notified parents.
- School Board Committee Meetings - 6 pm - Agendas can be found on Board Docs.
- Tuesday - August 15
- Pre-K and Kindergarten - Half of the Students Report
- Wednesday - August 16
- Pre-K and Kindergarten - Half of the Students Report
- Thursday - August 17
- All Pre-K and Kindergarten Report
- School Board Meeting 6PM - Agendas on Board Docs
LDOE Release LEAP Assessment Data
Vermilion Parish was recognized as one of the Top 10 Districts in the state this past week by the Louisiana Department of Education for their performance on this past spring's LEAP 2025 Assessments. Congrats to all our teachers, students, and administrators for their hard work.
Special Congrats to the following schools for achievement:
- Cecil Picard Elementary - 62% Mastery and Advanced Test and 6% growth. Led the parish in both categories.
- Seventh Ward and Indian Bayou for scoring over 60%
- Dozier Elementary for 5% growth.
- JH Williams, Erath Middle and North Vermilion Middle - All showed growth at the Middle School Level.
- Erath High and North Vermilion High for being over 50% and to Abbeville High for the greatest high school growth of 5%.
Communication 101...
I want to remind all that the following means of communications could be used by individual schools to share information. Please reach out to your child's individual school if you need specific information.
- VPSS Website - All of the district information. Can get to all individual school sites from here.
- School Websites - All of your child's school specific information.
- VPSS Facebook - Informational site for the entire school system. Not a place to leave questions or concerns. Not checked for those purposes.
- School Media Sites - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X) may be used by individual schools.
- Parent Command Center - Make sure you get your log in so that you can keep up to date with your child's grades, attendance, discipline and other important information.
- School Emails and School Front Office Calls - Please communicate with the school before reaching out to central office as they are the first line of help. We are happy to help if a solution cannot be found at the school level.
Facts and Info about the School System
DID YOU KNOW
- The Vermilion Parish School System is 147 years old. The school system started in 1876. We will celebrate the 150th year of Vermilion Public Education in 2026.
- Our student enrollment is over 9400 students for the second straight year. The enrollment was as high as 9650 in 2016-2017 but post flood of 2016, Covid and Hurricanes that number has decreased. The low number on enrollment in the last 10 years was 8900 the year of the Covid pandemic.
- Vermilion has 534 graduates set to complete their diploma requirements this year.
- Lache' Pas - A 9th hour educational enrichment program teaching the Cajun culture is now being accepted by the state as school credit hours. We have expanded the program from Rene Rost and have included JH Williams and Erath Middle School this upcoming year.
Stay tuned as we will periodically update you on interesting facts from the past and from the current year in this newsletter.