- Iberia Middle School, in New Iberia, will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 13; students will be learning virtually.
- Assistant Principal Emily Dupre and Superintendent Heath Hulin discuss the legacy the former principal has left.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Our world was completely shattered last Thursday morning," said Assistant Principal Emily Dupre.
On Thursday, December 7, the Iberia Parish school system would be forever changed.
"It took everybody... by surprise, kinda took our breath away," said Superintendent Heath Hulin.
Iberia Middle School principal Dina Bourque was driving to school, when a sugar cane trailer collided with her car. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I knew something was wrong, or off when I got to school and she was not here," explained Dupre. "There have only been, I think, three other times this entire school year where I beat her here."
Dupre joined the IMS family in July, as the new assistant principal. She thanks Bourque for 'taking a chance' on her, and hiring her.
"She was planning on retiring next May. We were gonna have this school year and next school year together. And like I said, I was just so excited to just absorb as much as I possibly could from her."
Aside from the classroom, Dupre says she is 'just going to miss her friend.'
"We worked basketball games after school together, volleyball games after school together. We spoke on the phone about our upcoming plans for the week, so....I mean...You really are ingrained in each others lives. To know her was to love her."
Yesterday, Superintendent Hulin announced that Iberia Middle School will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec. 13), 'due to funeral services.'
"After speaking with the staff and speaking with the family, Dina's husband realized how important the teachers of Iberia Middle School were to her," said Hulin, "and he thought they should all have the opportunity to attend the funeral if they chose to."
According to the announcement, virtual learning will replace in-class work tomorrow.
"Dina was a loving mother, a caring mother to her own family; but she was also a mother and a caregiver to the 400 students at Iberia Middle School."
For details on funeral services, click here.
