By CINDY HUFFMAN-LAPLACE

DEAR EDITOR: Bravo! It is nice to see someone is making plans and decisions based on what is in the interest of the children. Mike Coburn’s plan to include seventh and eighth grades at the four local elementary schools is the best idea I have heard in a very long time. Under Mr. Coburn’s direction, along with the assistance of teachers and principals, I think the reincarnation of the neighborhood school could be a huge success.

Leaving students in familiar surroundings with the same teachers, principal and support staff they grew up with and where they know the rules and what is expected of them will have a positive impact on everyone involved. I think the amount of parental volunteers would increase if their child’s school were in the neighborhood instead of the next town.

As a parent of a sixth-grader at LaPlace Elementary School, the decision regarding what is best for my soon-to-be seventh-grader was not going to be easy. LaPlace Elementary created a fire for learning within my child. That fire has been fueled by teachers who are excited to teach and high standards set by our principal, Dr. Courtney Millet.

It was that fire for learning I was thinking about when considering which school would be best for my child. Which school would have the same atmosphere for learning? In the end, Mr. Coburn is right. I work in Jefferson Parish, and I would have probably taken my child out of the parish and placed her in a school close to my office.

I could not be more pleased with Mr. Coburn’s plans, and I will campaign among my neighbors, family and friends for their support, too.