6th through 8th grade students of the International School of Louisiana will be moved to occupy the John Dibert school building on Orleans Avenue due to campus renovations. (photo by Alicia Serrano, MidCityMessenger.com)
Upcoming renovations to the International School of Louisiana’s Camp Street building will require the school to move its middle-school grades to the John Dibert school building on Orleans Avenue — starting in January, officials announced this week, prompting concerns from parents about transportation between the two sites.
ISL principal Melanie Tennyson told parents Tuesday night that the Recovery School District approached the school in October about renovations taking place at the current school’s building on Camp Street. The renovations on Camp Street have been in the works for years, stalling first over neighbors’ concerns about the whether the plans preserved the historic nature of the building, then later over an unrelated dispute over the Recovery School District bid process.
Those issues have been resolved, and the RSD told Tennyson that renovations were set to begin early next year and be completed within 12 months. In the meantime, the school needed a “swing space” for students whose classrooms will be affected by the renovations.
Tennyson said that RSD offered the school a building in Hollygrove and one in New Orleans East off of Bullard Avenue. Around that same time, Tennyson said that she heard that Encore Academy was moving out other their former building, John Dibert on Orleans Avenue.
“We put in a proposal along with a couple of other schools to see if we could occupy that building,” she said. “They (Orleans Parish School Board) accepted our proposal over the other three (schools) and we now, as of January, will be tenants in the John Dibert school building in Mid-City,” Tennyson said.
The only students who will move to Mid-City will be in grades 6 through 8. Tennyson said that she believes the John Dibert building on Orleans Avenue is a “centrally located spot” with “great accessibility.”
“We believe that moving our students out in to that space will make it a much safer environment,” she said. “We will get the work done faster and that we will be able to provide a consistent and high quality instruction to our students in the closest proximity for families.”
Tennyson said that the move with take place in January, however construction on the Camp Street campus will not take place until March 1.
“We made the decision to split the school year rather than start here (at Camp Street) and then move during the Mardi Gras holiday,” Tennyson said.
Tennyson said that at the Camp Street campus will begin school Jan. 5, while grades 6 through 8 will begin school Thursday, Jan. 7, at the Mid-City location.
“Middle school will have two days to set up and Wednesday there will be an open house for parents to come in,” Tennyson said.
According to Tennyson, some parents will have children at both the Uptown and Mid-City campus. The school hours at the Mid-City campus will start 45 minutes later than the Uptown campus, beginning at 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., she said.
“There will be a 45 minute window for parents to get from here to there,” Tennyson said.
Tennyson, however, said that transportation will not be provided for students going from the Camp Street campus to Orleans Avenue, which caused many concerns among parents at the meeting.
“Transportation is a major, major issue right now and answering “No” to that because of this renovation, that should not be the answer to that question,” one parent said.
Tennyson said that schedule was made to accommodate parents as well as teachers who will be commuting in between campuses and will try to come up with a solution to parents’ concerns.
“We are aware of how complicated and difficult this is,” she said.
“We anticipated hearing from you and then we can try to problem-solve and respond. Tonight I’m not going to offer solutions or change plans, but that’s why we’re here to give you the opportunity to voice your concerns,” Tennyson said.
Tennyson said that parents could email her with more concerns and would try to come up with a solution before school lets out for winter break on Dec. 18.
“We will make many of you happy, but we can not make everyone happy,” Tennyson said.
Information about the Mid-City campus can be found here.
ISL Campus is littered with trash. Dangerous Razor wire and broken chain link fence surrounds the campus like a prison. Children playing around and eating lunch near a disgusting dumpster that is out in the open right by the play area and outdoor lunch tables. Students certainly deserve better!!