[StBernard] In St. Bernard, more doors open to more students

[Westley Annis]

In St. Bernard, more doors open to more students
Monday, August 14, 2006
By Bob Warren
and Karen Turni-Bazile
St. Bernard bureau 

Among the typical bric-a-brac in Doris Voitier's office, one piece stands
out: a framed photograph of a huge crowd of students, squinting into the
springtime sun but smiling broadly. 
 
The smiling faces, captured on film at the end of the last school year,
represent a resiliency on the part of the St. Bernard Parish school
district, which took a devastating blow from Hurricane Katrina but rebounded
with astounding quickness. 

"I wanted something to help chronicle the school year we had," Voitier,
superintendent of St. Bernard Parish schools, said one recent morning,
unable to conceal her pride. 

That school year, of course, included losing all the parish's schools to
Katrina on Aug. 29. "The enormity of the loss overwhelmed me," Voitier said.


But only 2½ months later, the district was able to scratch together a
makeshift school, the St. Bernard Unified School, which opened to 334
students on the campus of Chalmette High. Now, after growing to 2,300
students from prekindergarten to 12th grade by the end of last school year,
the district opens the 2006-07 school year this morning to an expected
3,000-plus students. 

Today also is opening day for the parish's lone Catholic school, Our Lady of
Prompt Succor in Chalmette, which expects an enrollment of more than 300
students. 

Prompt Succor reopened in March to 24 students. But enrollment has grown
rapidly since then. 

Principal Sharon Coll was still hiring teachers as of Thursday to meet the
needs of the incoming students. "We have not capped a grade out; we are
interviewing for new teachers," Coll said. "We're here to minister to the
people." 

For the public school students, a second school will join Chalmette High.
Chalmette High will house students in seventh through 12th grades this year;
Andrew Jackson in Chalmette, grades prekindergarten to sixth grade. 

Gone is the Unified School name; instead each school will carry its
traditional name, colors and mascot. The Unified School name served its
purpose -- it housed students from 25 different area schools -- but, Voitier
said, "It's time to go back to the traditional school names." 

Public school enrollment remains a far cry from the prestorm 8,800 students,
but district officials foresee continued growth. An expected $10 million in
repairs will soon be under way at a third campus, N.P. Trist in Meraux, that
could be opened mid-year should an anticipated second-semester surge come to
fruition. In any event, Trist is expected to be needed at least by next
school year. 

"We're growing, and we're going to continue growing," Voitier said. But, she
added, it's difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint where the district's
enrollment will be two, three or five years down the road. 

Voitier said the Chalmette and Andrew Jackson campuses, after millions of
dollars in work, are in very good shape. Nonetheless, the large enrollment
each school will carry will require the continued use of modular classroom
buildings. Chalmette expects 1,500 students; Andrew Jackson, 1,600. 

To help recruit and retain teachers in the storm-ravaged district -- there
are 300 or so now, down from 800 pre-Katrina -- teachers got an additional
$6,000 bonus this year, Voitier said. She said it's a one-time only
occurrence. 

Financially, the system, which has existed on federal loans, state money and
its own surplus, is on decent footing this year, Voitier said. But, she
says, the future financial picture is cloudy. 

At Prompt Succor, a six-room modular building is expected to arrive in a few
weeks, officials said, which will help ease any crowding. The Archdiocese of
New Orleans, meanwhile, has committed $2 million to Prompt Succor
improvements 

The Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese,
said the archdiocese also is studying whether there is enough interest to
open a Catholic high school in the parish next school year. Maestri said the
undamaged second floor of St. Louise de Marillac could potentially be used
as a high school and that the athletic fields and facilities at Hannan High
in Meraux, which has not reopened, could easily be rehabilitated for high
school athletics. 

. . . . . . . 

Bob Warren can be reached at bwarren at timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3363.
Karen Turni-Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3335.