The "Voice" of VPSS

It is hard to imagine that we have 14.5 days of classwork and we will reach the end of the first semester and head into the second half of the school year.

With that being said, this may be the most crucial 14.5 days for our students as it is imperative that they complete all assignments, make up any work, and finish strong by studying and staying on top of any testing or assessments. Mid-term grades are very important in all classes but they are extra important in the high schools as some determine a complete grade in half year courses and these grades are used to determine eligibility for athletics the entire second half of the year. Finish strong.

In our newsletter this month, we recognize the great accomplishments of our school system when judging by the state's accountability system. Vermilion remained an "A" district and led the way in the Acadiana area for the 12th straight year. We saw growth in 12 of our 20 schools. We do recognize and understand that we still have a lot of work to do in some places, but we need to take a moment to celebrate the achievement that is a result of the hard work of our students, teachers, staff and administration at each of our schools. A shout out as well to our curriculum department who are constantly supporting the efforts of our schools.

Parents need to be proud as well because you play a role in this accomplishment as well. So often we only see the negative in our school system in the world of social media and television and print media because negative sells and is more entertaining for some. Be proud of our academic accomplishment and don't be afraid to shout it out and celebrate to all that you know. We often times take for granted what we have in Vermilion, but trust me as I travel around the state, many wish they got a chance to be a part of what we have. Kudos to all.

We also recognize our Students of the Year for the district and our monthly attendance winners in this month's edition. In addition, I also wanted to update you all on the ongoing cyber situation that we have and are dealing with. We were fortunate and missed the hurricanes this season, but we were unable to avoid all crisis with our network event.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I look forward to the next three weeks of hard work and then another opportunity to celebrate with family and rejuvenate for the second half of the year.

As always, I thank you for allowing me to lead this district and for placing trust in me to keep us at the top.

Yours In Education

Thomas J. Byler

Superintendent

As most know by now, the network outage in early October was a result of a cyber attack on the network system. We are continuing the updating of our system which includes a complete rebuild of our servers, new processes in place for security, and contracted outside cyber services with round the clock network monitoring. As school systems across the country have moved to more technology and many of those appearing in networks, the rate of cyber attacks on school systems has increased over 35% in the last year. We assure you that we are taking the necessary steps to upgrade for our system.

As with any network event, we are finding out what areas of our network were potentially compromised and what, if any, personal information may have been breeched. As we move forward, we will be mandated by law to send out the necessary paperwork to all of our stakeholders of areas which may have been potentially affected. Many of us have received letters such as this from many companies in the recent years. We just want to be transparent in our reporting of this information and we will be sending out any necessary documents that we are requred to send out by law.

We thank all of you for your patience and support during this crisis situation and we will continue to work on completing this issue and upgrading for a more protected network in the future.

THESE ARE CENTRAL OFFICE DATES FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. PLEASE CHECK YOUR SCHOOL CALENDARS FOR SPECIFIC SCHOOL EVENTS

Monday, December 2nd

• Schools Re-Open from Thanksgiving Break
• All Safe Schools Training for Employees Due
• State Superintendent Winter Conference - Baton Rouge (2-5)

• Parish General Election- Many VPSB Schools used as voting sites.

Tuesday, December 10th

• State BESE Committee Meetings - Baton Rouge

Friday, December 13th

• School Gardens Cook Off

Monday, December 16th

• VPSS Supervisor Meeting
• VPSB Committee Meetings 6 pm

Wednesday, December 18th

• Parish Government Day Elections - High Schools

Thursday, December 19th

• VPSB School Board Meeting

Friday, December 20th

• End of Second Nine Weeks
• EARLY DISMISSAL DAY

Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd

Christsmas/Winter Break - No School for Students.

Here is the summary of action for the Board Meetings held in November of 2024. Board meeting agendas and minutes can be found on the VPSS Website.

SUMMARY:

• Approved Job Description for Director of Infomation Systems - Old Technology Supervisor Position
• Accepted bids for additional security cameras for the Child Nutrition Department
• Entered into intergovernmental agreement with the VP Police Jury.
• Approved Bids for final phase of Gueydan High Hurricane Restoration Project
• Received the evaluation of the Superintendent for the 23-24 School Year (Executive Session)