Parish schools begin classes Aug. 6

Classes for the dozen elementary, junior high and high schools in the Washington Parish School District will begin this Thursday.

“We’re looking forward to a good year, and we’ve prepared for it,” said Washington Parish School Superintendent Darrell Fairburn.

The superintendent spent last week visiting schools and meeting with faculty and staff. He said teachers and administrators are excited and staff members are touching up some last-minute maintenance issues such as lighting and air-conditioning issues.

Student enrollment at this point is about 5,200, “which is where we’ve been in the last year or two,” Fairburn said.

He said he expects it to climb slightly during the first couple weeks of the school year, which is normal.

The district will be pushing adolescent reading programs this year, especially in grades six through ten, Fairburn said.

Testing has shown a number of students are falling behind in reading, and faculty will be implementing different reading programs such as “Read 180,” in order to help those students catch up, Fairburn said.

Also new this year will be a certified nurses aid program at Pine High School, and dual enrollment courses at all high schools that will be good for credit at Louisiana Technical College Sullivan Campus in Bogalusa.

Teachers will conduct a workshop and put the final touches on their classrooms this week. Fairburn has been speaking with many of the 500 teachers in the school system this past week.

“The feel real excited, and are ready to go,” he said.

The first school holiday will be Sept. 7 for Labor Day, and will be followed by three days off for the Washington Parish Fair, Oct. 21-23.

There will be no school for the week of Nov. 23 in observation of Thanksgiving.

The Christmas break will go from Dec. 18 (1/2 day) through Dec. 31, with classes resuming after the New Year’s Day break on Jan. 4.

Other holidays include Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18), Mardi Gras (Feb. 15, 16) and spring break (March 29 – April 5).

The last day of class is scheduled for May 20.