BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Parish Schools announced Wednesday (March 31) that its newly appointed Superintendent is aiming to bring staff and students back to campuses ahead of schedule for the 2021-2022 school year.

In a news release, the school system said that Superintendent Sito Narcisse is hoping to implement a "Smart Start" plan that will facilitate the return of students and staff to in-person activities on campus. In addition to this, he hopes to garner EBRP School Board approval to add eight school days to the district calendar. The additional days would be used to address learning gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Narcisse said, “We know all too well the costs associated with prolonged periods away from the classroom. We must reintroduce students to in-person instruction as soon as possible to assess the greatest areas of need.”

The "Smart Start" plan has EBRPSS employees returning to school buildings two weeks ahead of schedule to participate in professional development activities focused on closing achievement gaps and accelerating student learning.

The proposed calendar amendments are as follows: 

Smart Start Return to Campuses Timeline

-July 12, 2021

Professional development week for principals and leadership

-July 19, 2021 

Professional development and employee in-service week

-July 28, 2021

First day of school for EBRPSS students

The school system news from EBR came hours after Pfizer revealed its COVID vaccine  is safe and "strongly protective in kids as young as 12."WBRZ and WBRZ.com were first to report the newsin Baton Rouge Wednesday.

Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy met with EBR school system students about concerns related to virtual learning. 

"The Centers for Disease Control have been saying for months, schools should be reopened," Cassidy said.

Click HERE to watch a 2 On Your Side story about Tuesday's discussion with students and Senator Cassidy.