By Jeanni Ritchie

There have been big changes within the Rapides Parish School Board (RPSB) system since my children were in school. There’s been even more since I was a student in the years that came way before the threat of Y2K.

 

That was the “Covid” for our generation, the fear of the world shutting down as the world shifted into the Year 2000 causing people to stockpile waters and non-perishables while preparing to lose their life savings to banks whose digital technology would undoubtedly erase all memory.

 

It was nonsensical madness.

 

But we persevered with barely a blip on the radar, our alleviated fears once again turning to proven issues of need including food insecurity and higher education opportunities for low-income students.

 

RPSB has made great strides in these areas. In its fourth academic year, the free breakfast and lunches for all solves a problem that can devastate educators and harm children both physically and psychologically.

 

In my teaching career, I’ve seen countless students turned away for meals due to lack of funds or overdrawn accounts. Requiring them to go to the office to call parents who’d never answer, they were left hungry and embarrassed as their classes headed out to recess.

 

Other students would often share, the compassion they had far outshining the hearts of policymakers who put wealth over well-being.

 

No child should ever go hungry, especially not at school.

 

I spoke with Erma Davis, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, and shared my delight at the program. Of the five districts I’d taught in, only one had offered free meals to all.

 

“Determination for the district is based on community eligibility,” she’d said. She went on to explain the parameters for qualification including school percentages of kids who were homeless, migrant, runaways, fosters, or SNAP and Medicaid recipients.

 

40% of the student population must be this criteria and parental surveys are requested annually to continue funding.

 

Davis is doing an incredible job; this funding remains secure.

 

Also, helping lower-income students achieve is the opportunity for ACT testing at no cost to students.

 

Gone are the days of hefty fees and securing transportation on Saturdays to testing centers.

 

That had been a financial hardship for me the year my oldest child had taken it; my arts income had unexpectedly ended in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

 

Implemented a few years ago, in-house ACT testing for all students in Rapides Parish Schools is now standard curriculum.

 

Matt Byrnes, Secondary Education Director, explains, “All high school students in grades 9-12 take the ACT at no charge. The Louisiana Department of Education funds juniors taking the test and the Rapides Parish School Board funds the other grade levels.”

 

I know parents are grateful.

 

The Rapides Parish School Board and La. Dept. of Education are investing in our children which is a contribution to our country as well. We all should be perfusing our future generations with greatness.

 

Another area of lesser critical importance but crucial nonetheless to the whole child approach development of our impressionable teenagers is the expansion of extracurricular clubs and activities.

 

My high school years had clubs like National Honor Society and Key Club but I’d wanted to be Marcia Brady signing up for everything from Scuba to Karate.

 

Today’s students have many more options in Rapides Parish. From Bass Fishing to Archery at ASH, Robotics and Peabody TV at Peabody, and French Club and Mu Alpha Theta at Bolton, these clubs join such mainstays as Student Council, FCA, Beta, and Model UN in our district’s high schools.

 

They would’ve laughed if I’d tried to join Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society, in the 80’s but it was Pie Week at Bolton the afternoon I visited and the club was fundraising. An educational supporter as much as a chocolate pie advocate, I had to stop by their table. They were raising funds to pay for convention and club expenses.

 

Club President Addie Brauer shared the reason she loved the organization. “I’ve met several people and it’s a great way to build community.”

 

Gia Quesada, also a club veteran, serves as the North Louisiana Governor for the state chapter of the academic organization. In between serving slices of the quickly sold out pies, she told me all about their upcoming convention in Baton Rouge.

 

“When is it?” I’d wanted to know, wishing I could stow away on a school van. Student conventions are the best.

 

“It’s next week,” LaMAΘ President and BHS Club Sponsor Tammi Carlisle shared.

 

I’m certain they will do well at the three-day high-school math tournament.

 

With free meals for all, testing opportunities regardless of financial ability, and a wealth of extracurricular activities, it is clear that student success remains at the forefront of the mission for Rapides Parish Schools.

 

Jeanni Ritchie is a former Rapides Parish School Board educator and Bolton High alum.