New lab school at UL inching closer to becoming reality

Plans are moving forward for a new school on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

There is no estimated date for opening of the lab school. However, a big hurdle was passed this spring when the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill to allow the school to receive state Minimum Foundation Program funding.

The UL System Board of Supervisors previously approved the project.

“The conversation has changed from ‘should we have a lab school?’ to ‘when are we going to have the lab school?’” said Nathan Roberts, dean of UL’s College of Education. “I feel it’s going to happen.”

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Roberts said the idea is for the school to open first for kindergarten, first, second and third grades. The school would add a grade every year, eventually expanding to a K-12 school that could accommodate upwards of 600 students.

The school would operate as an independent school district, Roberts said. It would not be a part of the Lafayette Parish School System and no local dollars would be used for its operation.

The school would charge tuition, depending on family income. According to a document about the plans, the idea is for 60 percent of the students to pay full tuition, 25 percent to pay half-price tuition and 15 percent to pay no tuition.

Each grade would have two sections, with a projected 22 to 24 students per section.

“The mission of our school is to advance educational equity, innovation and opportunity for all Louisiana students,” UL officials said in the document, which addresses frequent questions about the school. “Our admissions policy aligns with our mission by seeking to establish and maintain a population of students which resembles the demographics of Louisiana. In order to ensure a diverse population, the admissions procedure will gather family information to determine eligibility in each financial category to reflect demographics of the region.”

The current focus is finding a location for the school, either an existing structure or site for a new building on or near the UL campus.

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Roberts said the potential benefit to UL students and professors is significant. Those in various disciplines, such as kinesiology and music, could work with lab school students on activities. It could bolster grant applications, which often require an education component.

Meanwhile, UL education students would likely be heavily involved in the school.

“For our college, our students who are preparing to be teachers can see a model classroom, so when they go into a school district, they know what a class should be like and look like,” Roberts said.

This wouldn’t be the first lab school at UL. The F.M. Hamilton Lab School, an elementary school, was open on campus from 1939 to 1977.

Elsewhere in Louisiana, lab schools have had significant academic success. State data showed that in 2017, lab schools at LSU, Louisiana Tech and Southern University all received ‘A’ grades from the Louisiana Department of Education, with each school having a score over 100.