Photograph: St. Landry Parish School Board member Anthony Standberry discusses an application for a proposed Opelousas-area charter school with Helix Community president Preston Castille. (Photograph by Bobby Ardoin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
St. Landry Parish School Board members listened to presentations from representatives who intend to operate Opelousas-area kindergarten to 12th grade charter schools that, if approved, could begin accepting students in 2024-25.
The pair of proposed Helix Community Schools St. Landry intends to become academies that concentrate on artificial intelligence, medical careers, energy and agriculture and will feature new campuses that will not require any local tax money required for construction, according to school president Preston Castille.
If the Board eventually approves the Helix application, the Type-A charter would enable District officials to oversee the educational processes at the two schools.
The parish already has three charter schools, with those of those starting operation in 2021.
Castille, a former parish resident who teaches law classes at Southern University, told an Academic Committee during a two-hour discussion Tuesday night that the charter schools could educate as many as 1,950 students when they become k-12 campuses.
Whether to approve the Type-A charter application is expected to be an agenda item included for the regular School Board meeting set next Thursday.
Committee members asked Castille a number of questions including the projected location of the schools, but Castille declined to be specific about the details.
Castille described the construction venture as a public-private partnership. Castille said several property purchase options are being considered if the application for the school is approved.
Also Castille failed to provide total cost estimates for constructing the facilities. Committee members however did not ask him for that information.
A press release that accompanied the series of presentations indicates that if allowed to commence operation, the schools will be considered tuition-free public charter schools.
Castille also told the Committee that Helix Community campuses have launched successful campuses in Baton Rouge that include an aviation academy and Mentorship STEAM Academy.
Although the St. Landry campuses will accept students from all areas of the parish, Castille said the primary focus will be educating students from the Opelousas area.
Castille said officials with the Helix school models thought Opelousas could be a target area to locate charter schools, since voters have rejected two public school construction proposals since 2018..
Helix schools, Castille added, intend to use what he said are “innovative methods” in order to educate “the most challenging kids.”
What The Evaluator Thinks
University of Louisiana-Lafayette education professor Tony Daspit, hired by the District to evaluate the Helix St. Landry charter application, said the schools’ proposals are unique.
“It clearly aligns an innovative model for disadvantaged (students). Helix is an experienced operator that meets state standards and presents cohesive models for both of the schools,” Daspit told the Committee.
Daspit wrote that Helix officials should initially accept students in grades k-5.
However Helix officials want to start operations with students in grades k-8, an idea that Daspit wrote is “risky,” since Helix has never attempted to serve such a large population as it plans to do in St. Landry.
Committee member Hazel Sias said she prefers the k-8 school model.
“The issues we (school officials) are having are not (kindergarten) through fifth grade. The problems we have are in grades six, seven and eight,” said Sias.
