SUNSET, La. — The historic Sunset High School will soon be home to Ecole St. Landry students.
Ecole St. Landry, a French immersion school in the heart of Sunset, is launching a Brick and Boardwalk Campaign. It's all a part of a project to renovate the old Sunset High School building.
"We are building one grade per year, adding between 60 and 70 students a year; with the authorization, we have to go through grade 8th we are looking at not only this campus that would have around 150 students but the Sunset High campus with over three hundred students," said Lindsay Smythe, Ecole's School Director.
Ecole St. Landry first moved to the former Sunset Baptist Church in 2021 but plans to expand.
"We always planned to move into the former Sunset High building just down the road from us," said Smythe.
Sunset High School is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Smythe plans to preserve the building's authentic design with a touch of French language culture.
"For years, Sunset High was a cornerstone of this town, just like all schools were. It's where everybody went to the football games and attended all the events," said Smythe.
To get the project on a roll, The school came up with a Brick and Boardwalk Campaign, a project that will spark years of memories and restore the school's spirit.
"It will just be a beautiful array of names of our local supporters, and we also have a boardwalk similar to the one at Moncus Park, but it will be planks that people can buy, and family names will be etched into it," said Smythe.
Proceeds will go towards renovating the old school, which will cost nearly 6 million dollars with new additions and 21st-century technology.
"Sunset High did not have air conditioning. We plan to have air conditioning. We will also have your typical smart boards, wi-fi, and student Chromebook devices," said Smythe.
Smythe says Sunset High stood as the community's heartbeat, and she wants to get its rhythm back in sync.
"And what we are hoping to have with this new building is to show people that love of not only their culture but of a beautifully restored building that brings Sunset together but all the corners of St. Landry parish," said Smythe.
SO Studios, an architecture firm, will oversee the project's design, which is expected to be completed in the Summer of 2025.
