LAFAYETTE, La. — The Lafayette Parish School System has new accountability strategies emphasizing attendance, teacher support, and equipping graduates with real-world skills as the district aims to remain a regional leader in education.
“We have really defined what a school needs to look like throughout the district,” said Superintendent Francis Touchet.
LPSS currently measures success using four core values: safety, culture, opportunities, and growth. Touchet said improving student attendance is a priority.
“We have to come to school. The only way that we're going to be able to move students, the only way we're going to be able to improve our system is to make sure that we're improving attendance,” Touchet said.
Attendance initiatives won’t stop at students. The superintendent noted that the district is considering new incentives to encourage teacher attendance and help maintain consistency in classrooms. “We're going to make sure that our teachers, who are closest to our kids, are going to get the payment that they need to make sure that they are the best in front of those kids,” he said.
Efforts to attract educators in areas where they are needed most, alongside competitive pay for top teachers, have helped improve instructor vacancies to historic lows.
Despite ongoing campus upgrades and new construction, Touchet assured the community that taxpayer funds are being carefully managed. “Every year, I am asking my team to go back to the budget and look at what is not resulting in performance as far as kids are concerned. When we see that those things are not there, we're taking them off,” he explained.
After successful progress in 2025, LPSS is already preparing for a strong 2026. “We are definitely rising to the top, and being the number one school district amongst large districts is an accomplishment. The hard work of all of our principals and all of our teachers is really paying dividends,” Touchet said.
Looking ahead, LPSS will introduce 'Portrait of a Graduate,' a new initiative designed to ensure students leave the school system with essential professional skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
“What we will have when it's all said and done is something that no other school district has,” said Touchet. “We have a school accountability system that is focused on those four core values, and then we will have a Portrait of a Graduate that will have professional skills that are actually attained throughout that K to 12 experience, so that every one of our kids are going to better have that competitive advantage."
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
