Community backs Northside revamp

“We feel we’re covering all the bases from health to safety issues.” Melinda Voorhies, new Northside High principal

LAFAYETTE — The makeover of Northside High School is ahead of schedule with students, faculty and the community pushing the effort forward, new Principal Melinda Voorhies told a group of visitors that included state Superintendent of Education John White on Friday.

A week ago, Voorhies and a new administrative and support team set in motion a turnaround plan for the school. The comprehensive makeover also includes about $1.9 million in facility repairs to address problems, such as poor lighting, that have earned some hallways the nickname “the dungeon.”

“We’re about a week ahead of schedule,” Voorhies told White and visitors. She said faculty and students have responded well to the changes.

Voorhies said she met with students by grade level to lay out new rules and expectations.

“They’ve embraced what we’re trying to do,” Voorhies said of faculty.

White said his visit was a sign of support for the effort. He credited new Lafayette Parish Schools Superintendent Pat Cooper, as well as the School Board for its support of the plan, which he said shows they put children first.

The school is the district’s lowest-performing high school and has a state accountability score of 67.7. The state’s accountability system is based on a 200-point scale.

White credited the district for drawing the community in as a partner in its plan for Northside. Voorhies has appealed to community groups like the 100 Black Men of Greater Lafayette and other community volunteers to become involved in the school.

Greg Davis, a member of the 100 Black Men of Greater Lafayette, visited the school Friday during White’s tour. Davis said the group is committed to a mentor program for students and will soon meet with Voorhies to set up a meaningful program.

After short visits to two classrooms, White said he was encouraged by the instructional support teachers receive as part of the turnaround plan. The turnaround staff includes a classroom management and instructional specialist, Liz Breaux, who observes teachers daily and meets with them to offer recommendations.

Breaux led White on a short tour of the school Friday.

White said he’d like to make a return visit at the end of the year.

“What matters in the end is student learning,” he said.

The goal is to test the turnaround approach at Northside and deploy it to other schools in need, Cooper has said.

“We’re doing pilots in a lot of areas where we see needs,” Cooper told White.

In the first week, the new administration has addressed discipline problems at the school with the team of three assistant principals visible in classrooms and across the campus.

Of the more than 800 students who attend the school, a small percentage have created discipline problems, Cooper told White.

In the past week, only two students were sent to the district’s alternative school, the AIM Academy, and one of the AIM referrals was made by the prior administration.

Administrators also are meeting with the families of 20 students who were sent home from school due to ongoing discipline issues, Cooper said.

Voorhies told visitors Friday that the school’s turnaround team also is addressing students’ needs through its new counselor, Joyce Ellis, whose role is to connect students to services.

“She’s working with children and interfacing with the health unit,” Voorhies said. “We feel we’re covering all the bases from health to safety issues.”

The physical makeover of the school is also under way.

The School Board approved nearly $1.9 million in repairs and upgrades for the school, which was earmarked for a new campus as part of the district’s facilities master plan.

In October, voters rejected the board’s property tax proposal to fund about $560 million in school construction to replace failing buildings, build permanent classroom additions to replace portable buildings and make major repairs.

The upgrades for Northside will serve as a model to address facility needs elsewhere using existing resources, Cooper has said.