With the 2025-26 school year will come a new era for both Ralph Wilson and J.J. Johnson elementary schools.

The Calcasieu Parish School Board finalized a Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Committee decision to reconfigure the two schools with unanimous approval on Tuesday. This move will turn J.J. Johnson into a kindergarten through fifth-grade school and convert Ralph Wilson into the Ralph Wilson Center for Opportunities.

The C&I Committee approved this change during a March meeting. It was presented to the full board on Tuesday for final approval. The board approved the change without discussion.

The Ralph Wilson Center for Opportunities will be an educational center for CPSB students who are over-age, under-credited or have any special circumstances that have hindered their education. Superintendent Jason VenMetre said this equates to about 100 students district-wide, the American Press reported on Tuesday.

J.J. Johnson will take on the 90 students who attend Ralph Wilson.

Board members Billy Breaux, District 13; Mary Fontenot, District 4; and Dean Roberts, District 6, were not present at the meeting.