St. Landry Parish School Board

The St. Landry Parish Math Instructional Specialists and Math and Science Supervisor were pictured in the Region IV STEM Newsletter for attending the Zearn Leadership Training!

There will be no school on Monday, February 20th, Tuesday, February 21st, and Wednesday, February 22nd in observance of the Mardi Gras holiday. Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras holiday!

Today is National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day! We thank our SROs for their dedication to our students & schools! We're extremely fortunate to have them on our campuses, building trusting relationships & maintaining order in our schools! You Rock! #slpproud

“Unbought and unbossed.” Those words ring loudly as a mere speck of Shirley Chisholm’s legacy. Chisholm, born and raised in Brooklyn, became the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. After four years as the New York representative for the 12th congressional district (primarily the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood), Chisholm announced her run for the presidency. In that moment, she became the first Black candidate for president from a major party, and the first female candidate to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Chisholm's life was endangered as she vied for our nation's highest office. The representative won a total of 28 delegates during her run. After stepping down from Congress, Chisholm taught at Mount Holyoke and Spelman College, both all-women colleges (Spelman is also a historically Black institution). In 2015, she was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Allensworth, California was an all black township and the first of its kind. The township was founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth and a group of other African-American men. Allensworth was meant to be a refuge away from the oppression that Black people faced amidst society and aimed to be wholly self-reliant. The town of Allensworth ran largely off of agricultural pursuits, but contained its own small businesses and school district by 1912. At the height of Allensworth’s success in the 1920s, there were around 300 residents. Severe drought and the discovery of arsenic in the water supply led to the loss of residents in the 1960s and 70s. In 1976, now empty, the town became a state historic park.

Happy Valentines Day! ❤️❤️❤️

Lincoln University was the first historically black public university to grant degrees in the United States. Still in operation today, this small public university recently made headlines after MacKenzie Scott donated $20 million to the school. Lincoln (then called Ashmun Institute) welcomed its first students in 1854. Many prominent thinkers and creators have walked its halls, including Langston Hughes, class of 1929; Thurgood Marshall, class of 1930; jazz poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron; and Medal of Honor recipient and editor Christian Fleetwood, class of 1860

Ralph Bunche, a diplomat and political scientist, began working with the United Nations as early as 1944, as the form of the coalition began to become clear in the waning days of World War II. He, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, was responsible for the creation of 1948’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His Nobel Prize was given in recognition of this work amongst the Arab-Israeli conflict in the late 1940s. Bunche was the UN’s chief mediator for the conflict and negotiated the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the 232-year history of the Court. In an historic ceremony at the Supreme Court shortly after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer took effect at noon on June 30, 2022, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the Constitutional Oath to Justice Jackson (pictured). Justice Breyer, for whom Justice Jackson served as a law clerk during the Court’s 1999-2000 term, then administered the Judicial Oath.

We're super excited to announce our 1st Annual Student Arts Expo will happen on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 10 AM to 3 PM on the Opelousas Courthouse Square. We are so very thankful of the Acadiana Center for the Arts for making this happen. There will be school bands, student artists, our robotics teams, and so much more. This event is free and open to everyone! Please come out and support our students and bring friends!

MACA will have its annual Black History Program, " A Celebration of Culture," on February 16, 2023 at 6:00 PM. Admission is $5 (cash only). Tickets can only be purchased at the door. There will be no online ticket sales. We hope you will come out and watch.

Sandra Lindsay emigrated to the US from Jamaica in 1986 and became a nurse in 1994. During the height of the pandemic, she worked tirelessly caring for patients during their fight against the Covid-19 virus and keeping her fellow nurses safe. When the time came, she was the first American to become fully vaccinated outside of clinical trials. She’s seen how dangerous and erratic the Covid virus can be, so she jumped at the chance to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. She explained that she just wanted to lead by example for her staff and as a Black woman. Lindsay was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for becoming the first American to receive an approved Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine and for her continued advocacy for public health equity.

School Compliance Vaccination Clinics - To learn more about our vaccination clinics, visit https://www.slpsb.org/page/school-health-services.

John Joseph was born in St. Landry Parish, reared in a loving home and grew to become a great man. He was a loving husband and father, devoted to his family. He was an educator, who brought so much to the educational system in St. Landry Parish. When he retired from that career, he ran for Mayor of Opelousas. And he won! In 1986, he made history when he was elected as this town’s first black mayor. I remember that election so well. And as Mayor Joseph use to say, “Many in the town thought the roof of City Hall would fall in.” And then with a grin he would add, “but look, it is still intact.”

Thanks to all of our SLP school counselors! This week, we join @ASCAtweets in celebrating our school counselors & their contributions to students' success! #NSCW23

Great job Mr. O's class!

In 1966, Marie Van Brittan Brown, along with the assistance of her husband, invented a security system that consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors, and two-way microphones. These items created a closed-circuit television system for surveillance also known as CCTV. With multiple peepholes, the sliding camera could capture images of people of different heights. The two-way microphones allowed Brown to communicate with the person outside. She also had a remote that would allow her to unlock the door at a safer distance. Lastly, she could press an emergency button to send an alarm to the police or security.

Lawtell Elementary Celebrates Black History Month 2023!

In 1891, anyone interested in mailing a letter would have to make a long trip to the post office. However, a thoughtful black inventor sought to change that. Philip B. Downing (pictured) designed a metal box with four legs, which he patented on October 27, 1891. He called his device a street letterbox, and it is the predecessor of today’s mailbox. One year earlier, Downing also patented an electrical switch for railroads, which allowed railroad workers to supply or shut off power to trains at appropriate times. Based on Downing’s design, innovators would later create other electrical switches, such as light switches used in the home.

Happy National Groundhog Day! 🤔