By STACEY PLAISANCE / L’Observateur / Febuary 15, 1999

LUTCHER – State Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard said he rates the St. James Parish School System among the best he’s worked with.At a luncheon held in his honor by the parish school board Tuesday, Picard said five out of six categories he evaluated in the school system are in good standing.

The status of student test scores is the area most in need of improvement, and Picard said the school system should concentrate enormous effort toward improving test scores parishwide.

“You need to work on getting those test scores up,” Picard said. “Mostother areas of the system are in good condition. The buildings look good,and it helps kids learn when you have nice facilities.” Picard had the opportunity to visit several schools throughout the parish Tuesday, and he advised Superintendent Walter Landry to implement a building maintenance program to avoid enormous cost to the school system in the future.

“It’s a lot less work and less expensive to properly maintain the buildings as opposed to having them replaced later on down the road,” he said.

Picard commended Landry and members of the school board for the successes of the school system, including their staff of qualified teachers, teacher salary raises, the status of the Capital Outlay program and various academic and instructional programs.

“The single most important factor for student achievement is the teachers,” Picard said. “You have a great instructional staff of qualifiedteachers, and that’s vital to improving education.”Parental involvement is in need of improvement in parishes statewide, including St. James, he added, though he conceded that parentalinvolvement is hard to maintain.

Picard said his experiences with Landry and the board have been impressive, as Landry demonstrates extensive knowledge of the school system in various areas ranging from grades kindergarten through the high school level.

“He has a firm grasp of the system and knows details that some superintendents aren’t familiar with in other school systems,” Picard said. “I’ve been pleased with his demeanor and job performance.”Landry said discipline and cleanliness on school grounds have improved, and he is pleased with the status of the school system.

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