The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board met Wednesday and Thursday for its summer retreat.

The board holds retreats twice a year — once in January and once in the summer — to receive updates. This week’s session was also a chance to prepare for the upcoming school year.

“It’s very informative for us to get together twice a year,” School Board President Keith Jones said.

“It gives us a better sense of everything going on in the district and getting away as a group allows us to concentrate on the issues facing the district.”

Among the topics covered during the retreat were updates on construction projects, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, updates on Head Start, information about academics presented by Assistant Superintendent Quentina Timoll and Executive Director of Assessment and Accountability Heidi Trosclair, a review of the recent legislative session, an overview of capital projects and an update on finances by Executive Director of Finance Felix Boughton.

“We’re making sure everybody is fiscally responsible,” Jones said. “We are happy we didn’t have to do any layoffs but we are still keeping a close eye on finances.”

Jones said the board also discussed the district’s rising graduation rates and ways to keep that trend going.

The retreat kicked off with a two-hour evaluation of Superintendent Kevin George.

“All in all, we think Mr. George is doing a great job,” Jones said. “He’s doing a wonderful job.”