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STEM Center

Posted Oct 6, 2022
Written by David Gray | Livingston Parish News 

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A cornerstone of the Watson community for more than 100 years is preparing for the next century.

On Wednesday, Live Oak High and Livingston Parish school officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the school’s upcoming STEM center, which will increase the school’s offerings of 21st century learning.

igh, which has undergone much change over the last decade. The Watson school moved from its original spot on Old Highway 16 to its current 200,000-square-foot facility in December 2012, the result of a $30 million project. In 2018, the school launched a $6.8 million project to bring the baseball and softball programs on-campus.

School Board member Kellee Dickerson, who represents the Watson area, recalled some of the other expansions to the high school over the years but said that those usually pertained to certain groups of students.

But the new STEM center, she said, will impact “them all.”

“We’ve designed a lot of things in our community that we’re so proud of, the athletic facilities and expansions at other schools,” Dickerson said. “But this is something that, no matter what school they attend at Live Oak, they all come to the high school. And every child who walks through the doors at Live Oak will get to benefit from this amazing facility.”

Livingston Parish School Board member Kellee Dickerson speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Live Oak Institute of Medicine, Aviation & the Arts on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022.

David Gray | The News

Livingston Parish Assistant Superintendent Jody Purvis, a former CTE teacher, said the STEM center will be one of the most popular areas on campus when it opens, saying it’ll give students a place to see their “academic skills blending with those technical skills.”

“This project is something where every student at Live Oak High is gonna want to be… try to enroll in, and participate in activities that will be with them for the rest of their lives,” Purvis said.

In preparation for the STEM center, Jones said teachers have undergone professional development “to make sure they’re ready” for when the facility opens. The school is also preparing students through “foundational classes” that’ll only be enhanced when the STEM center opens.

The ceremony gave attendees a preview of what students have been learning in those foundational classes — and what’s in store. Culinary students prepared and served a hearty breakfast for those in attendance; drone students filmed the ceremony; and graphic design students produced the banners that were on display.

“We’ve had a lot of behind-the-scenes professional development to get ready for this,” she said. “We wanted to have our foundations ready so when our advanced technologies get here, we are ready to go.”

A portion of the center will be named in honor of the district’s current Career and Technology coordinator, Staci Polozola. Polozola has been behind the district’s push to grow and expand career programs, allowing for certifications in healthcare, culinary arts, construction and manufacturing, business, entrepreneurship, IT, STEM, digital and graphic arts, and automotive and collision repair.