Folse address chamber, praises parents

If you ask St. Tammany Parish School Board Deputy Superintendent Trey Folse III, the parish’s recent third-place finish in state school performance scores is largely due to parental involvement.

“Across the state, there are 44,000 members of the PTA,” said Folse. “Of those, 23,000 reside in St. Tammany, and that is a tremendous level of community participation.”

Folse made his remarks during a recent Second Wednesday Luncheon sponsored by the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce in Slidell. He cited the accomplishment as one of many to take place since Hurricane Katrina, during which every school facility in the parish received some sort of damage.

Among those, Slidell’s Brock Elementary, which has housed some sort of educational facility on its site since 1909, is scheduled to reopen in December. Folse said while it might have been easier to tear the building down and replace it with a new structure, the school’s historic place in the community warranted a different approach, geared toward repair and preservation.

In addition, work is progressing on Salmen High School, which was completely destroyed by the storm and is expected to represent several architectural innovations upon its completion.

“People will come from all over the country to see how you can successfully build a school in a flood area,” said Folse.

Folse also commented on new security measures being implemented across the parish, such as perimeter fencing, which will allow one entrance and one exit only to school campuses. Also in the works is an emergency notification system, which will offer parents to register on the School Board Web site to receive text messages in the event of a problem situation at their child’s school.

Other new developments include security cameras and a digital fingerprinting program for potential employees, which will enable school officials to get results within 24 to 36 hours. The previous ink-based system could take up to six months for results to come back.

The parish is going “above and beyond” what is required by the state for employee background checks, Folse said. Also included in personnel screening will be searches on clerk of court records and driver’s licenses, as well.

Also speaking was Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Peter Jabbia and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Cheryl Arabie.

In other business, Jeff Cooksley of Lakeshore Chrysler Dodge Jeep was named the chambers Member of the Month for November. The next Second Wednesday Luncheon will be the annual Holiday Luncheon on Dec. 10. For information call 643-5678.