Parish Schools’ Opening Sees Boost In Enrollment

The St. Bernard Parish Public Schools have now been open since August 11, and school officials are calling it one of the smoothest openings in recent history.

“All of our principals at each of our 10 schools are reporting that the new school year has opened very smoothly. The credit goes to our teachers and principals who obviously were very well prepared to greet their students and to parents who had their children ready to face the new school year as well,” said Superintendent Doris Voitier.

The school district has registered over 400 new students this school year, and over 6,000 students are now enrolled in the public schools. “We are happy to see so many families moving into our community, many of whom have finally made their way back home,” said Voitier.

The new registrations have taxed the space available in some schools, especially Arabi, Chalmette, and Davies Elementary Schools. “We are asking parents of those schools to bear with us one more year. The opening of the new Lacoste next fall hopefully will solve any overcrowding issues that we are currently facing,” Voitier said. The new Lacoste Elementary School is currently under construction in Chalmette at the former St. Mark’s site. The district plans to reshape school attendance zones during the early part of 2012.