To hear Kevin George tell it, it’s a request he receives multiple times each year from parents on the East Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish.

They want to know if their high school-age children can attend West St. John High School.

The answer is “yes,” starting for the first time with the 2017-18 academic year.

George, superintendent of St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools, said the landmark admissions policy is only open to incoming ninth graders and will continue that way going forward.

“We want to be able to give our parents as much choice as possible,” George told me this week. “Families are different and even kids are different. Some people would just rather go to a smaller school. It’s not that we’re competing or putting those two schools up against one another. It’s a matter of choice: Would you rather go to East or West St. John?”

It’s certainly a smaller school option. East St. John High welcomed more than 350 freshmen in this year’s class, while the school serves approximately 1,400 total students each day on its campus.

West St. John High has 182 students. It’s a small school and small class size atmosphere that administrators plan to maintain.

George expects West St. John High’s incoming freshmen to sit at 25, which will include possible East Bank students.

For those wondering if students who reside on the West Bank can request ninth grade transfer to East St. John High, the answer is no.

“Right now, if you do live in Edgard, then those boundary lines are in effect,” George said. “We based our decision on demand. Since I have been here, I have not had a child or a parent approach me and say, ‘Hey, I live in Edgard but I want my child to attend East St. John High School.’ I have often, every year, since I have been here, had the reverse. If we started getting the demand the other way, then we’ll look at creating a policy for that, as well.”

Current eighth graders interested in attending West St. John High must fill out an application and return it to the Child Welfare and Attendance Department at the School Board Office by May 1. Applications are available at the office’s Reserve location and can be downloaded at stjohn.k12.la.us.

School officials said eighth graders also received applications at school.

A lottery process will be used to randomly select the students seeking transfer if the number interested students exceeds available openings.

This month’s announcement of expanded admissions for West St. John High marks a significant shift in options and configurations for local public schools set to begin in 2017-18.

Fifth Ward and East St. John elementary schools are reconfiguring to combine the schools’ service territory and serve prekindergarten through fourth grades at Fifth Ward Elementary and fifth through eighth grades at East St. John Elementary.

School leaders say Fifth Ward is the district’s lowest performing school, with East St. John Elementary seen as one of the District’s fastest risers. The move is designed to jumpstart growth at both locations through more focused instruction.

Next academic year also marks the beginning of Garyville/Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School’s enhanced admissions-based accelerator program open to all students in the parish.

The changes are clearly part of a larger plan targeting parents by offering as many education options as possible.

Between public, private and parochial schools, the race is on for student attendance.

“We’re not going to allow someone’s address to determine the school they attend,” George said. “As much as is allowable or doable, we want to give people those choices. We want to try to cater to as many parents’ and students’ needs as possible, and some of these changes that you’re seeing happening afford parents more choice.”

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.