It’s open house season in St. John the Baptist Parish.

All schools — public, private and Catholic — are putting their best feet forward in an effort to recruit and retain students to their respective campuses.

There is big money and even bigger stakes at play.

The addition of Louisiana Premier Charter School, possibly as soon as the 2018-19 academic year, has added another layer of intrigue to the situation.

Parents in St. John Parish have options, and school leaders across the East and West Banks realize this.

Some fear the addition of a charter school could detrimentally impact one or more of our local schools, possibly forcing a closure or consolidation. I disagree, because the goal is quality options and competition leads to improvement.

If local schools see this as an opportunity to serve students in a better fashion and improve their performances in the process, the result could be more students and young families coming into the area.

Until a couple of months ago, St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools operated as a B school district. Statistically, no other public school district in the state maintained such a high score while serving a student population that included a large base of students from economically disadvantaged homes.

According to the numbers, St. John Public Schools was doing more with less and still performing at a better rate than anyone in Louisiana. After simply falling a letter grade to C, there is no reason to think our District’s highly paid administrators and principals can’t rally the grade back up to a B this calendar year.

As one of the region’s chief employers with a history of strong showings, our public schools are in a position to offer the most diverse and least financially burdensome education experience in St. John Parish.

St. Charles Catholic, the only Catholic high school in the River Region, put their fundraising arm behind their product, launching a $5.7 million renovation scheduled for completion this year designed to breathe new life and new students into the four-decade-old institution.

Improvements include updated security features, a $30,000 technology jump, a new large conference room, an expanded cafeteria and commons area, renovations to the gymnasium, the conversion of the current chapel into a computer lab, repairs to the parking lot and the construction of a new stand-alone chapel.

Riverside Academy in completing its first full academic year under the guidance of longtime educator and community stalwart Mike Coburn. Known as a nearly unmatched athletic power for its size, Coburn and dedicated staff have made major strides academically and school community wise in a little more than a year.

The result is a unique experience offered to students and parents across the River Parishes — a chance to attend school from prekindergarten through 12th grade under the guidance of a family-oriented school system. It’s the only campus experience like it in the region.

Our parish’s remaining Catholic elementary schools — Ascension of Our Lord, St. Joan of Arc and St. Peter — all boast top-notch preschool options, engaging community fairs and near one-on-one attention that can scarcely be challenged by others.

They must continue to build on that, making sure students and parents feel valued over all else.

The leaders of Louisiana Premier Charter School face a steep challenge if they want to carve out a foothold in this field of quality options.

The hope from many is the mere presence of the charter forces our established schools to honestly look at themselves and ask “what can we do better” and then ACTUALLY do it.

The market will force improvement among our schools and demand Louisiana Premier start strong and grow. The cream will rise to the top and maybe, just maybe, a stronger educational base will keep local families in the parish and attract others to move in. The ever present petrochemical industry and St. John’s location between New Orleans and Baton Rouge offer built-in advantages other parishes could only dream of.

A little education rivalry could provide the incentive needed to complete the attraction. Local parents will certainly be paying attention.

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.