Cohn Elementary renovations begin, Port Allen Middle repurposed for early college academy
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The West Baton Rouge Parish School Board will host a groundbreaking ceremony at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21 to mark the beginning of a project to transform Cohn Elementary into the new Cohn Intermediate School campus. The event will take place at 805 N. 14th Street in Port Allen.
This change is part of a bigger $32 million improvement plan for the district. It's funded by a bond issue, so no new taxes will come from residents, according to the school system.
The updated Cohn campus will let the district turn the Port Allen Middle School campus into the West Baton Rouge Early College Academy. This program is for students who want to go to college. At the academy, students can earn up to an associate's degree in humanities or sciences while still in high school.
'Statistics show that the more dual enrollment credits a student has going into college, the more likely that student is to be successful and graduate from college. We are offering a spectrum of career opportunities to our students with the Early College and Career Academies,' said WBR Schools Superintendent Chandler Smith.
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Construction at Cohn will begin this summer and will include:
A new elementary building.
Middle school building.
Library/media center.
Gymnasium.
Practice field.
Renovations to the cafeteria and demolition of older buildings are also included in the project. WBR Schools said the new elementary wing is expected to open in August 2026.
In 2027, Port Allen Middle School students will move to the newly developed Cohn Middle campus. The Early College Academy will open at the old Port Allen Middle School site. Minor renovations will happen from January to August of 2027.
The Early College Academy started in the 2024–25 school year. Freshmen took college courses while staying at their regular schools. They will move to the Academy full-time for college classes in their junior and senior years.
WBR Schools said the entire project, which includes work at Cohn and other schools, aims to make improvements. It also seeks to provide students with more learning opportunities, all without raising taxes.
'An organizational review of our system highly recommended combining the Cohn and Port Allen Middle campuses due to the low enrollment at those schools,' said Smith. 'By doing that and making Port Allen Middle the Early College Academy, we provide benefits for all these students, and it allows us to hire the teachers needed for the Early College Academy courses. There is no way we could have done that at each high school in the parish.'
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Cohn Elementary renovations begin, Port Allen Middle repurposed for early college academy
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