Report shows 344 Rapides Parish students have applied for new Bolton Academy

Rapides Parish School Board members got a short update on the progress of the new Bolton Academy Academic and Performing Arts Magnet School after a presentation during a January committee meeting was met with disappointment by some.

Bolton's new principal, Jennifer Scott, gave a presentation on the progress of the new school during an education committee meeting Jan. 23. It included enrollment numbers, information on a visit to Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport and steps being taken to allay safety and security concerns.

But two of the three committee members said they had wanted more detailed information on the new school, which is slated to open with the 2024-25 academic year. There also were concerns about sports programs, too.

Committee member Sandra Franklin said she was expecting "more substantive matter here. I'm not really getting that."

Franklin's district includes Bolton.

The new academy will house grades six through 12 in its first year. If renovations go as planned, younger students will be added for the 2025-26 academic year.

It folds the programs from Phoenix Magnet Elementary School and Rapides Academy into the magnet, closing both those schools.

January report from Principal Jennifer Scott

Scott said her report included what's been accomplished over the past two months. She acknowledged the first steps, including hiring Haley Dean as assistant principal.

Dean has been an educator for 16 years, and Scott said they'd worked together at Rapides Academy. She called Dean "an asset for us moving forward."

The school's band room is "in progress," according to the presentation. General cleaning out of broken and unused items has been done, including tearing down portable buildings.

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A website, logos and social media pages have been created, and enrollment is underway. Digital billboard advertisements will be seen around town, too.

The academy is partnering with Louisiana State University of Alexandria for a dual enrollment program.

As they prepare the magnet program, they've been looking to other programs for ideas. Scott talked about the visit to Caddo Magnet, which she called "an unbelievable school" with high scores. The visit left them with great ideas, she said.

Scott called enrollment numbers "pretty good." She said there were a little more than 248 students enrolled at the time of the committee meeting, with eighth-grade students making up the highest number — 92.

Superintendent Jeff Powell said during Tuesday's regular meeting that the total number of applications received was 344. Broken down by grade, that includes:

• 57 sixth-grade students.

• 70 seventh-grade students.

• 105 eighth-grade students.

• 38 ninth-grade students.

• 26 10th-grade students.

• 21 11th-grade students.

• 27 12th-grade students.

Franklin asked Powell if there was any way to know how many Rapides Academy students were included in the current enrollment total.

Powell said he didn't have that information, but he would be happy to provide any type of breakdown of the numbers.

Later in the meeting, member Linda Burgess asked for monthly reports to the education committee she chairs. When Powell asked if she would like him to add a breakdown about which schools students were applying to the academy, both she and Franklin said yes.

Franklin called the current numbers "relatively low.”

"It just concerns me that, going forward, I hope we have enough to sustain that school going forward."

Both Franklin and Burgess called the enrollment numbers reported at the January meeting low.

Open enrollment for all district students is happening through February. Enrollment for the new academy began in January.

During the January meeting, Scott spoke of urging current Rapides Academy sixth-graders to turn in their enrollment forms. She also said getting enrollment for ninth- through 12th-grades "was a struggle right now."

She said current Bolton students who have qualified have been "slowly turning in their applications." She said her goal for first-year enrollment was 350 students, a number she's close to hitting based on the updated figures.

Scott spoke of plans to visit eighth-graders at Alexandria Middle Magnet School (AMMS) and sixth-graders at Peabody and Rosenthal Montessori schools to tell them about the magnet program.

Franklin said she's been to AMMS — which currently is a feeder to Bolton High School — and talked to eighth-graders already. Some have told her they had no plans to enroll at the academy because they had been told to go to Peabody Magnet High School instead, the school where those who don't qualify for the new Bolton will attend.

When Powell said the middle school numbers were good, Burgess asked how.

"When you look at how many students are currently enrolled at Rapides Academy ... I don't know what numbers y'all are expecting to see, but we're looking at what's current enrolled at Rapides Academy being transferred over to Bolton and then opening it up for more," said Powell.

Scott clarified that most, but not all, of the middle school students who have enrolled have come from Rapides Academy.

Burgess said board members were repeatedly told part of the reason for this new preK-12 magnet was to utilize all the space at historic school with a capacity of about 1,400 students. Franklin agreed.

Burgess said she wanted the magnet to be successful, but a better job of "selling" it must be done. She said the building would be under utilized with the current enrollment numbers.

Powell countered that board members knew the numbers wouldn't be high during the first year because younger students wouldn't be included. He said another 350-400 students would come in from Phoenix once the building is ready.

He said another 200 students currently at Bolton qualify for the program but haven't turned in an application as of the time of the January committee meeting. He said they'd continue to push those students to turn in their applications.

Franklin again spoke about students who had told her they'd been told to go to Peabody next year, which is why they haven't turned in those applications. Powell said he doesn't know who has been saying that and mentioned he's met with students.

"That's not what they were told by the superintendent, and that's not what was handed to them and their parents who showed up for informational meetings," said Powell. "'They say' is a popular thing to say, but what they were given were the facts, to their hands and to the parents who came to the meeting."

Franklin said she knew students and parents were given information because she was at that meeting, but again insisted students were being told to go to Peabody.

"The point is, there's still uncertainty," she said, adding that she also was concerned about the building's utilization.

During the Tuesday meeting, member Wilton Barrios again voiced his opinion that the Bolton facility is large enough to hold both a traditional school for Bolton students who live in the area and for the new academy.

"And then they could have their full athletic program, and they could have everything else that other schools have," he said.

Are there enough students for sports?

During the January committee meeting, Franklin also referred to another point from the report, that the Louisiana High School Athletic Association has been notified about the new magnet. She said, according to the association's rules, a certain number of students are required for a school to have a team.

"Will we have enough people to make a team?" she asked.

Powell said decisions on sports teams are made by school administrators every year, which drew a protest from member Bubba McCall.

He told Powell board members were told athletics would remain at Bolton. Some athletes addressed the board about their concerns when members were debating the academy proposal.

McCall asked Powell, yes or no, would Bolton have an athletic program?

Powell said yes.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: 8th graders make up largest group within 344 Bolton Academy applicants