KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana |Cameron announces school dates

Cameron announces school dates

October 18, 2005
Reported by Pam Dixon

The marquee outside Grand Lake High School speaks volumes. It says, "Cameron will return." Now the Cameron Parish school system is just about ready to welcome back its nearly two thousand students like 12 year old Jace Perry who have been away from school four weeks. Jace says, "To get back on track and meet our friends and talk about our evacuations."

With much of Cameron Parish still in ruins including several schools, Superintendent Doug Chance says the school system is scheduled to resume classes October 31st and November 1st using only two schools-- Grand Lake and Hackberry for now. Chance says, "We will operate four schools on one campus and that's going to be a challenge for the superintendent, but it's a greater challenge for those three principals who will be here on day and Mr. Duhon who is the normal principal. So it's sharing those shops."

Grand Lake students will attend school at Grand Lake starting out with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule while students from Cameron Elementary, South Cameron Elementary and South Cameron High School will attend school at Grand Lake on Tuesdays and Thursday. Johnson Bayou and Hackberry High students will share the Hackberry campus. Their starting schedules haven't been determined yet.

Hundreds of Cameron Parish students have been displaced all over Southwest Louisiana, and in order to help them return to schools the Cameron Parish school system is willing to send its own school buses outside the parish to transport them back. Chance says, "We'll pick up people that might be in the Carlyss area, that might be north of the Sulphur area. Some have housed in groups in the Rayne area."

Chance says the missed time will be made up by lengthening the school day and doing away with some holidays. But many of the details will be worked out in the days and weeks to come.the details concerning school schedules, bus routes and other issues will be discussed at meetings next week. Teachers and staff will report to school October 25th at 11am while students and parents report on October 27th for planning meetings. Johnson Bayou and Hackberry students and parents report to Hackberry High at 9:00am. Grand Lake students and teachers report to Grand Lake at 9:00am. Cameron Elementary, South Cameron Elementary and South Cameron High students and parents report to Grand Lake at 1:00pm.

For more information about Cameron schools, call 475-9167 or toll free 888-475-9167.