By: ELIZABETH
WEST
Managing Editor
At the Evangeline Parish School Board meeting on Wednesday, Superintendent Darwan Lazard shared that a new principal for Ville Platte High had been selected.
Lazard said, “The person I am presenting you tonight as the new principal at Ville Platt High is Ms. Melanie Miller. She is a former assistant principal at Beau Chene High School. She also volunteered to go to Washington Elementary, which is historically a low performance school.
“What I admire and respect about that is she was not afraid of a challenge, and based on preliminary scores that were just released that school has shown growth.”
Lazard went on to thank Toby Doucet for stepping in and filling the role of principal at VPHS, which became vacant when Kellie LaFleur moved to a new position at the media center.
Miller than thanked the board and all EPSB staff for welcoming her to Evangeline Parish.
During the meeting, Savoy Medical Center was presented with an award by Supervisor Ted Soileau for offering its AHEC of a Summer program to Evangeline Parish students.
The program allows students to experience working in a hospital, by allowing the students to work in several different areas of the hospital.
At the meeting, Soileau said, “When you ask the students what their favorite department to work in was, they all say the psych ward.”
After explaining a little about the program, Soileau then presented Savoy Medical Center CEO Gene Burges with a plaque to say thank you for the 20 years they have provided this program to Evangeline Parish students.
Pine Prairie High School teacher Jennifer Scoot was then recognized at the meeting as KVPI’s Teacher of the Year.
The contest allowed students to nominate their teacher by writing a letter to the radio station.
Scott was nominated for the award by her student Wade Marshall Brooks.
To end the meeting Lazard gave the board a Bi-Annual Report of what they have been able to accomplish since he became superintendent in January of this year.
Some of those accomplishments included maintaining an open door policy with all EPSB staff as well as bringing French Immersion to two schools in the district.
In his closing, Lazard stated, “Evangeline Parish will move onward, upward, and we will continue to move forward.”