New Vision Learning Academy, founded by Reverend Andrew J. Mansfield, is a premier charter school in Monroe, Louisiana, providing students with the fundamentals they need to become successful adults.
Mission Statement
The first mission of the New Vision Learning Academy, Inc., is to enhance the personal growth and educational development of children and through an academically sound program produce intellectually able, technologically competent, morally stable, psychologically and physically healthy, capable and contributing citizens of the next century.
The second mission is to increase the meaningful involvement of parents and the community in the process of educating children and to provide service and outreach support and partnerships that will strengthen families and the community.
The Board of Directors will revise the School’s mission, as needed, every five years, with valuable input from students, parents, faculty, and volunteers.
Our History
New Vision Learning Academy is an independent, public charter school, located in Monroe, LA. It became the first Type II charter school in north Louisiana, when it opened on September 6, 1998. As a Type II charter, New Vision is required to eligible serve students from all over the State. However, its students are primarily from Monroe area and surrounding parishes. While New Vision is approved to serve students in PK-12, it currently enrolls students in PK-6.
New Vision’s curriculum is based on a unique blend of Core Knowledge and Directed Instruction. It provides a rich program of core subjects, technology, physical education/nutrition health, character education, and other enrichment courses. The program also includes a highly successful special population program.
The educational program is offered through an extended academic year, after school, weekend and summer programs to all of its students. As a result, New Vision’s students have maintained perfect performance on the LEAP, and earned the School multiple Exemplary Achievement ratings over the past five years.
The School is staffed by a dedicated team of highly qualified faculty, staff and administrators. The school is governed by the Board of Directors. New Vision is supported by a wide array of parents, volunteers, and community partners. The foundational principles of New Vision Learning Academy are expressed in its vision, mission, and motto.
Faculty & Staff
Administration / Office Staff | Position | Subjects |
---|---|---|
Reverend Andrew J. Mansfield | Founder | |
Dr. Andrea’ Miller | Executive Director | |
Michael McFarland | Dean of Students | |
Tomekia Moten | Administrator | |
Joy Brown | Administrative Secretary | |
Cafeteria | ||
Elonde Marles | Cafeteria Manager | |
Shemicka Wade | Food Service Manager/Benefits Coordinator | |
Dorothy Bradley | Food Service Professional | |
Joseph Jones | Food Service Professional | |
Computer Lab | ||
Tarvi Wilson | Technology Teacher | Technology |
Gym | ||
Marvin Hunter | P. E. Teacher | Physical Education / Health |
Pre-K | ||
Bria Broughton | All subjects | |
Sharon Jackson | All subjects | |
Kindergarten | ||
Zaire Sayers | Teacher | All subjects |
Brittany Shaw | Teacher | All subjects |
1st Grade | ||
Jennifer Lewis | Teacher | All subjects |
Tyler Johnson | Teacher | All subjects |
2nd Grade | ||
Darene Hawkins | Teacher | All subjects |
3rd Grade | ||
Monica McWilliams | Teacher | All subjects |
Vanessa Anderson | Teacher | All subjects |
4th Grade | ||
Constance Wright | Teacher | All subjects |
Edwin Williams | Teacher | All subjects |
5th Grade | ||
Gaundhi Kline | Teacher | All subjects |
6th Grade | ||
Carolyn Jones | Teacher | All subjects |
Special Population | ||
Votika Lynch | Special Populations | All subjects |
Speech Therapist | ||
Lisa Bannister | Sunshine Pediatrics | |
STEM Lab | ||
Betty Lewis | Resource Teacher | Science |
Reading Specialist | ||
Earnestine Ross | Resource Teacher | Reading |
Math Specialist | ||
Marvin Hunter | Resource Teacher | Math |
Library Skills | ||
Gloria Bishop | Librarian |
Board Member | Board Position |
---|---|
Danny Hunt | President |
Linda Britton-Smith | Member |
Larry Doyle | Member |
Sheila Grayson | Member |
Damion Green, Sr. | Member |
Consuelo Tatum | Member |
Rod Washington | Member |
Please note: New Vision Learning Academy Board Meetings are scheduled the Thursday after the 3rd
Sunday of each month and year.
Time: 12:30 pm
Date: Every Thursday after the 3rd Sunday of each month and year
Location: via Zoom due to Covid-19
Agenda: Monthly Meetings
Contact Information
Custodian of Records
Dr. Andrea’ M. Miller
507 Swayze Street
Monroe, Louisiana 71201
Telephone: (318) 338-9995
Fax: 318-338-9987
Email: [email protected]
Transportation
Reverend Michael McFarland
507 Swayze Street
Monroe, Louisiana 71201
Telephone: (318) 338-9995
Fax: 318-338-9987
Email: [email protected]
Mandated Reporting
Dr. Andrea’ M. Miller
507 Swayze Street
Monroe, Louisiana 71201
Telephone: (318) 338-9995
Fax: 318-338-9987
Email: [email protected]
Department of Children and Family Services
24 Accent Drive
Monroe, Louisiana 71201
New Vision Learning Academy Enrollment and Lottery Procedures
The application window will be open from February 15 through May 15 of each year. No late applications will be accepted.
Any student that does not currently attend New Vision Learning Academy and wishes to be considered must submit a new application each year. This includes legacies (brothers/sisters of current New Vision Learning Academy students that live in the same household) as all previous applications have been purged.
All applications must be submitted in the main office. Applications may be picked up from the school in the main office. Original applications may be returned in person in the main office or by mailed directly to New Vision Learning Academy 507 Swayze Street Monroe, Louisiana 71201.
Application Requirement
- A completed enrollment application (It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure all information is entered on the application. Incomplete applications will not be processed in or after the lottery; therefore, the student will not be entered into the school or placed on the waiting list)
- Students must successfully complete the grade preceding the grade the student plans to enter (Applications will supply the school with a final report for acceptance.
- New Vision Learning Academy will make the application available at the school main office.
Enrollment Process
- Determine the spaces available in each grade based on the school’s designated character capacity;
- Set a deadline for accepting student application. Pursuant to the Louisiana Charter School Law, an application period shall not be less than one month nor more than three months;
- Set a date for the lottery with reasonable public notice given at least one week prior to the lottery;
- Set a final date for student to accept enrollment and the actual date of enrollment.
We are not responsible for lost mail. Please submit only 1 application per child. Multiple applications for the same child will be deleted. You may call the school at 318-338-9995 for additional information.
New Vision Learning Academy adheres to the equal opportunity provisions of federal civil rights law and regulations that are applicable to this agency. Therefore, no one will be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964); gender (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972); disability (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) in attaining educational goals and objectives and in the administration of personnel policies and procedures.
Conducting the Lottery:
The drawing will be conducted at the school building by a “neutral” party.
The order of the names accepted or placed on the waiting list is as follows:
- Legacy students who register during open enrollment
- Other students who register during open enrollment
- Students who register after open enrollment (listed according to date application received
Waiting List Process
After all slots in the school are filled through a lottery, New Vision Learning Academy must continue to draw the names of students not selected for available space on a waiting list.
Student names will be added to the waiting list in the order outlined above.
Throughout the school year, new student applications will be added to the existing waiting list. Students will be placed on the waiting list in the order outlined above AFTER all students that took place in the lottery.
Students from the current year waiting list will not be added to the school during the open enrollment process.
Letters will be sent to students that have been accepted.
Acceptance
Letters will be sent to students that have been accepted. Those not accepted will not receive a letter but will remain on the waiting list. Please continually update contact information, including address and phone number, to ensure that we contact you should the need arise.
Please see the school office personnel or administration if you have any questions about the above policies and procedures.
Transportation Procedures and Guidelines
School Bus Procedures and Guidelines
In order to ensure the safety of each child, New Vision Learning Academy has set bus behavior guidelines. Please review these guidelines with your children. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for non-enforcement. Students violating these rules may forfeit bus-riding privileges.
New Vision Learning Academy will utilize school owned buses to provide transportation to students with specific transportation accommodations in their IEP.
When the parent or guardian of a student under the age of ten (10) or with a relevant transportation accommodation on the student’s IEP is not at the bus stop, the parent or guardian will be solely responsible for getting the child to school.
Bus Stop Procedures
Students should observe the following procedures at bus stops:
- Be at the assigned bus stop five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
- Stay off the road when waiting so the driver has room to stop.
- Line up in an orderly fashion and wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before boarding. Do not crowd or push.
- Use the handrail when getting on the bus. Walk up the steps one at a time.
- Have respect for people’s property. Don’t trample lawns, flowers, or shrubs.
- Students with bare feet will not be allowed to ride the bus.
New Vision Learning Academy will assist in solving problems at the bus stops; however, it cannot legally assume responsibility for incidents that occur.
Seating Procedures
Students entering the bus should go immediately to a seat without crowding, shoving or disturbing others. They need to share seats with others; be seated at all times when the bus is moving; sit facing the front of the bus; and remain seated until the bus comes to a complete stop and the driver opens the door.
Drivers may assign seats in the front of the bus to students with disabilities or to students who have a temporary physical impairment.
Drivers, at their option, may also assign seats to avoid misconduct.
Lost and Found
Any student who loses an item on the bus should contact the driver the next time he or she rides. Items found by drivers are held on the bus for two days and then transferred to New Vision Learning Academy. Parents may contact the school at (318) 338-9995.
Bus Stop Procedures/Criteria
- Bus stops are generally located at corners or intersections. The designated area that students wait for the bus must be within a bus length to the corner (approximately 40 feet).
- Stopping at corners or intersections is safer due to the expectations of traffic. Students are also generally taught to cross at corners, not mid-block. When a bus makes a mid-block stop it can confuse motorists, who generally anticipate that buses will make stops at corners or intersections. It also provides the driver, or a substitute driver, a landmark (intersection) to identify prior to making the stop so the eight-lamp system can be properly activated to warn the public. This also allows the driver to scan the area for students when approaching the intersection.
- School policy for distance to a bus stop from home can be up to 3-tenths of a mile for elementary student
- School buses use the eight-light system and stop arm at all bus stops. In order to properly operate the eight-light system, no bus stop will be made within 300 feet of one another.
- Buses are not allowed to travel down cul-de-sacs. Backing a school bus is a very dangerous maneuver. A full-sized bus needs 115 feet to safely turn and most cul-de-sacs do not fit this criteria.
- Buses are not allowed on private roads.
- There are not a fixed number of students that warrants adding or moving a stop. Stops are determined on an individual basis.
- Visibility from the home to the bus stop is not part of the criteria for establishing a bus stop.
- Stranger-Danger criteria are used only under documented, persisting or current cases that public safety can verify.
- A school bus driving by a home does not warrant adding or changing a stop. A high frequency of stops can make the motoring public impatient and cause drivers to drive around the bus causing greater safety concern than the distance a student has to walk to the bus stop. It also delays the bus, making the overall student time on the bus longer.
- Weather conditions are not part of the criteria for a bus stop change.
- School bus drivers do not have authority to change bus stops.
Inactive Stops
A bus stop shall be declared inactive if no students ride to/from for a period of 10 days. A written or verbal request is necessary to reactivate the stop.
Bus Stop Changes
Bus drivers are not authorized to make changes. All requests must come through the principal’s or designee’s office at New Vision Learning Academy.
All change requests are reviewed by the principal or designee.
School Bus Rules and Regulations for Students
- The driver is in FULL CHARGE of the bus. The students shall obey the driver cheerfully and promptly.
- Students shall obey and respect the orders of monitors, aides, or patrols on duty.
- Students shall occupy the space designated for them by the driver.
- Students shall be on time waiting for the bus at the designated bus stop. THE BUS CANNOT WAIT FOR THOSE WHO ARE LATE.
- Students shall observe the following:
- Never stand in the road while waiting for the bus.
- Clean feet before entering the bus.
- No spitting on the floor of the bus.
- Do not throw waste paper or other rubbish on the bus floor.
- Do not mar or otherwise deface the bus. Report to the driver any damage to the bus. Parents shall be responsible for payment of damages.
- Do not get on the bus when sick or when any member of your family has a contagious disease.
- Avoid unnecessary conversation with the driver.
- Tobacco products of any kind are prohibited on any bus.
- Keep arms and head inside the bus window at all times.
- Get on or off the bus or change seats in the bus when it is not in motion.
- Do not leave the bus without driver’s consent, except at home or at school.
- Walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic.
- Articles carried by students must be a size to fit under the seat or be held in the student’s lap. It is the driver’s discretion to determine if an object is distractive, dangerous, or too large to be carried on the bus. Glass objects of any size will not be allowed.
- Inappropriate language and/or printed materials will not be allowed.
- Eating of food and drinking of beverages is not permitted.
- The sale of candy or other items is forbidden on the bus.
- There will be no fighting at stops while waiting for the bus nor on the bus.
- Getting off at stops other than the student’s regular place of drop is forbidden unless the permission of the principal or designee is obtained.
- Students must remain seated until the bus has come to a complete stop.
- Any complaints from drivers, students, or parents not specified in this list of “Rules and Regulations” shall be reported promptly to the principal or designee.
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS LISTED LATER IN THIS PAMPHLET WILL RESULT IN THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:
FIRST INFRACTION
Written discipline reports by the bus driver are submitted to the principal or designee of the school. The principal or designee shall summon the student to the office for a warning and shall notify the parent or guardian of the incident. The principal or designee shall make documentation of action taken and contact the parent. The principal or designee shall also send a copy of the discipline report to the bus driver.
SECOND INFRACTION
The student shall be suspended from bus riding privileges for a minimum of three (3) days, NO EXCEPTIONS!
THIRD INFRACTION
The student shall be suspended from bus riding privileges for a minimum of one (1) week. Principal or designee may hold conference with parent.
FOURTH INFRACTION
The student shall be suspended from bus riding privileges for the remainder of the school term. At any time, if the severity of the behavior warrants, the student may be suspended from school on the first infraction. The following actions will be considered severe behavior and students may be suspended from school for a minimum of three days or for the remainder of the school year for such behavior:
- FIGHTING
- POSSESSION OF ALCOHOL OR ILLEGAL DRUGS
- SMOKING
- POSSESSION OF ANY KIND OF WEAPON
- ASSAULT
- DESTRUCTION OF SCHOOL BOARD PROPERTY
- INTENTIONAL DISRESPECT (EX: CURSING THE DRIVER)
As indicated above, school bus transportation is a privilege that may be withdrawn for inappropriate behavior. A student is to ride the bus or bus load to which he/she is assigned. Any emergency request to ride a bus, a different bus or a different bus load must be requested in writing by the parent/guardian and submitted to the office for the principal’s or designee’s signature. Students will be allowed off the bus only at school and the pickup locations requested in writing by parents. No student may ride two different buses (one in the morning and a different one in the evening.) The bus driver is in complete charge of the bus and its occupants at all times. Students riding the bus MUST comply with the request of the driver.
To notify the school of issues involving transportation, the parent, guardian, or students should submit in writing the date, the issue, involved parties, and must identify themselves.
New Vision Wellness Policy
In compliance with the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, New Vision Learning Academy maintains a School Wellness Policy which explains the laws and initiatives regarding student health and the nutritional program implemented at the school.
The New Vision Wellness policy outlines the school’s commitments in the following areas:
- Federal and State Requirements
- School District Policies
- Other School Policies
- Food Marketing
- Nutrition Education
- Physical Education
- Physical Activity Opportunities
Website visitors are invited to download the full New Vision Learning Academy School Wellness Policy document by clicking the button below.
Download New Vision Wellness Policy
New Vision Wellness Assessment
As part of the New Vision Wellness Policy, one of the commitments made by New Vision Learning Academy is to conduct School Wellness Assessments to ensure compliance with all the terms of the policy.
Site visitors can download our most recent School Wellness Assessment using the button below.