Another open forum is was held in Opelousas Thursday to discuss closing two elementary schools and rezoning others.

One Opelousas principal says re-configuring schools and grade levels would benefit both teachers and students. 

Michele Thibodeaux, the principal at north elementary, has students grade Pre-K through 6th.

She says, “Which is a lot of great to be knowledgeable of. It’s hard, we get it done but it’s hard.”

Thibodeaux says principals from the city would like to see the school reconfigured to create unity and consistency with grade levels. 

“We’d like to see smaller grade bands. Our teachers could become experts at their content areas, principles could be more efficient in being true instructional leaders. Right now our resources are spread thin,” says Thibodeaux. 

The school board says they also plan on closing two elementary schools in the city. 

School Board Member for District 1, Anthony Standberry says, “We are assessing our facilities. Figuring out which ones are better, which ones we should keep, which ones we shouldn’t, which ones we should pour money into. Tonight I think that will be the bulk of the subject.”

 Thibodeaux adds: “Hopefully with closing two campuses in the city alone and re-configuring our grade levels on our campus we can get the proper human resources that we need to service our students. These days we are not just teaching academics, we have to teach the whole child. We have to nurture the whole child, we are mama, we are daddy, we are the counselor. Sometimes I feel like a judge, it’s a lot all in one.”

Thibodeaux says, if the district is rezoned, she hopes the changes will help student and teacher retention in the city of Opelousas.