[StBernard] School surge

[Westley Annis]

School surge 
St. Bernard education storms back to life 
by Stephen Maloney 
03/26/2007  
  
Andrew Jackson Elementary School kindergarten teacher Tiffani Glapion leads
her class a lesson about the letter "V." 
 
In the heart of flood ravaged St. Bernard Parish, its public school system
thrives against all odds, giving residents who have lost so much a reason to
come home. 
"We were the only parish completely under water," said Superintendent Doris
Voitier. "All of our (school) buildings had to be demolished or renovated.
When we first came back and toured the devastation, it just wasn't apparent
how we were going to open schools again." 

Despite her initial lack of hope, Voitier rallied teachers and
administrators to open the St. Bernard Unified School on Chalmette High
School's campus Nov. 14, 2005, just 11 weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck.


"I just knew we had to have schools open for people to come back," Voitier
said. "We have refineries that people work at and police officers and
firefighters who never left. Without a place to put their children, no one
was going to be able to come back and stay." 

Dropping from 15 school sites to one and from 8,800 students to just 343 was
a challenge, Voitier said, but one she felt was worth the battle. 

By Christmas break 2005, 640 students attended the unified school, a number
that nearly doubled when school resumed in January. 

"We had 2,360 students by the end of last year and we are up to 3,800
currently," she said. "We expect to have five schools open and 4,000
students by August. We are progressing." 

Three school sites are operational. There are 2,000 students from preschool
up to sixth grade attending Andrew Jackson Elementary School; 1,800 students
in grades seven through 12 at Chalmette High; and 80 special needs students
at Trist Elementary. 

"We were going to move the middle school students over to Trist as soon as
it was ready, but I didn't want to move them in the middle of the school
year," Voitier said. "Gauthier Elementary and Rowley are scheduled to open
in August." 

The St. Bernard School Board also appointed four architects to draw up
specifications for additional schools at its last meeting, she said. 

While Orleans Parish's three separate school systems have been plagued by
shortcomings, especially in the areas of supplies and textbooks, Andrew
Jackson Elementary School teacher Tiffani Glapion said students at her
school are equipped for education. 

"Anything the kids need, I have it," Glapion said. "If someone gave me a
wish list right now, I wouldn't have anything to put on it. We're back 100
percent." 

The district recently earned the much-sought-after Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools accreditation, as well as district honors, which
Glapion said are hard to obtain under normal circumstances because of the
strict guidelines and high standards. 

These distinctions are evidence that despite the tremendous losses as a
result of the hurricane, St. Bernard's public schools are still functioning
at a high level of educational standards, Glapion said. 

"We have not skipped a beat on accountability," she said. 

Andrew Jackson Assistant Principal Lisa Young, who graduated from AJHS the
same year as Glapion, said officials touring the school during the
accreditation process were extremely impressed by the system's remarkable
rebound. 

"Their jaws hit the floor," Young said. "They were asking us if they could
bring other people here so they could see what we were doing." 

Voitier is no stranger to national acclaim, having recently been chosen as
one of the two recipients of the JFK Foundation's Profile in Courage award. 

"I got a call from Caroline Kennedy, which was very special for me," Voitier
said. 

Voitier will receive the award May 21 in Boston with her immediate family in
attendance. 

The real treat, though, will be returning to a thriving school system, she
said..