The Louisiana Board of Education has recommended major changes to high school education to better prepare every student for life after high school.

This year a state commission is studying the idea of redesign and the changes that will come with it. Eight pilot schools, including Vidalia High School, were chosen from around the state based on applications submitted last year. The pilot schools received several grants to fund the redesign, one of which is a $93,500 Comprehensive School Reform Grant from the state.

The grant paid for a team of administrators and teachers to attend the Model Schools Conference in Nashville, Tenn., this summer. Each pilot school, and later each Louisiana school, is responsible for writing their own redesign plan. The VHS team, including several teachers, a guidance counselor, librarian and assistant principal, has been working since last February to develop the plan best for their area. All decisions were made by the committee.

Redesign efforts include the use of data to make decisions, the creation of a rigorous and relevant curriculum, an increase in learning time and engaging students and parents.

&uot;The only thing that’s changed from when (parents) were in high school to today is computers,&uot; VHS Principal Rick Brown said. &uot;But the work force is different. These young people deserve as much a chance to succeed.&uot;

Other high schools across the country have undergone redesign projects of their own, including one in Shaw, Miss., that Concordia Parish personnel visited last spring.

The combined total of VHS grant dollars is around $130,000, money the schools hopes to continue to receive in the coming years if their program works. A key to success is participation, Brown has said.

Schools beyond the eight pilot sights will not receive grant money to begin their redesigns when the time comes.

&uot;We are on the cutting edge,&uot; he said. &uot;Our mistakes and success we will share.&uot;

Ferriday High School and Monterey High School are getting the first feedback from VHS. Administrators from those two schools have been involved in the process.