4-day students head back to school in Beauregard Parish

Merryville, LA (KPLC) - Students are heading back to some schools in Beauregard Parish today, Aug. 3, 2022.

Schools operating on a 4-day schedule, like those in Merryville and Singer, are opening back up today for the first day of class.

COVID Policy

This year, schools are hoping to keep COVID numbers down this year. While students do not need to be vaccinated, schools will be following state COVID guidelines which include:

• More frequent hand-washing and sanitation
• Social distancing
• Masks are currently optional for students but are encouraged for times when social distancing is not possible
• Students must stay home if they are showing any signs or symptoms of COVID

Some students will automatically be receiving free lunches this year as well. Specifically in Beauregard Parish, if your child is not receiving a free or reduced price for their lunch, you can apply HERE.

In Beauregard Parish, the dress code for schools has not changed.

Beauregard Schools Fully Staffed

While most industries are struggling with staffing at the moment, the Beauregard school system says it is fully staffed and ready to start the school year off right.

The school system says it works closely with local colleges and universities to make sure they can hire prospective teachers and recruit school staff all year.

Beauregard Parish says it also takes good care of its teachers with mentor and professional development programs.

Teachers have been preparing for this school year since June and have been working with students over the summer who had gaps in their learning due to the pandemic and hurricanes.

Curriculum and Safety Changes

The Beauregard school system says there has been a number of changes to its curriculum.

There have been improvements to ELA, Science, Math, and the EL program.

Schools will be pushing students to dive deep into reading and working to fill any gaps in learning they might have had due to the pandemic and hurricanes.

The parish also spent the summer touring schools to make sure their facilities are secure. Between buzz-through doors, fencing, and window shading, students will be even safer this year. However, they will continue to make safety improvements as the year goes on.

As the school year moves forward, parents can also expect schools to test law enforcement response times to see what can be improved.

School Improvements

Following improvements budgeted in 2019, the Beauregard Parish School System is currently working on improvements for its schools including a new cafeteria in Merryville.

The old school cafeteria has been in service since the 1960′s and staff are looking forward to the new and improved building which will also host a new administration area.

Safety was also a concern as the schools look to improve their facilities. Over the summer the parish’s safety supervisor, board members, principals, and the superintendent Tim Cooley surveyed every school in the parish to see what areas needed to be improved.

Some of the schools already have some of the improvements like updated buzz-through doors, shaded windows, and fencing. But others are still in the process of being updated.

Superintendent Cooley says 2022 marks the first year in a couple of years that schools will be able to simply move forward with educating children without having to worry about major disruptions and he says they couldn’t be happier.

Back to School Gallery

You can submit your back-to-school photos to our gallery here:

Copyright 2022 KPLC. All rights reserved.