By Michael Kiral / L’Observateur / June 8, 1998

LULING – When the 1998-99 school year opens in St. Charles Parish inAugust, the new school year will see many changes.

Those changes will start at the top levels of the school system. With theretirement of a number of Curriculum and Instructional staff members and an analyzes of the operation of the staff, St. Charles Parish SchoolSuperintendent Rodney Lafon concluded that a reorganization of the staff is needed.

The positions of Director of Elementary Education, Director of Middle Schools and Director of High Schools were eliminated. The positions ofDirector of Special Education, Director of Instructional Support, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment and Director of Literacy were created in their place.

The Director of Special Education will be the person in total charge of the Special Education Department. The Director of Instructional Support willcoordinate staff development and assist the staff with instructional practices.

The Director of Curriculum, Development and Assessment will work in curriculum development and define a standards and assessment system.

The director will also supervise a specialist at each level of education – primary, elementary, middle school and high school – which are also newly created positions. Those specialists will oversee Teachers on SpecialAssignment at each level.

The Director of Literacy will work with the programs at the lower levels, including the Reading Recovery, Literacy K-6, Montessori and Early Childhood programs.

Administrator Felicia Rapp said the changes do not signify an increase in the size of the administrative staff.

“The goal is provide a higher level of support to schools and to provide greater accessibility of the administrative staff to school-based administrators,” Rapp said.

The St. Charles Parish School Board approved the reorganizationunanimously at its meeting Wednesday. Board member Michael Hendersonasked Lafon to consider creating a Director of Alternative Programs in order to have continuity in regards to those programs.

To start filling the positions created by the reorganization, the board approved the selection of Yvonne Adler to Director of Special Education and Rachel Allemand to Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment at the meeting.

The board also approved a pay increase for principals and assistant principals in the district. Assistant principals received a increase of$2,000, middle school principals a $3,000 increase and high school principals a $4,000 increase. Elementary principals were compensated onthe number of students in their school with those with less than 300 students receiving an increase of $1,500, those with 300 to 450 students a $2,250 increase and those principals with more than 450 students a $3,000 increase.

“With the responsibilities principals have today, it is very appropriate,” Henderson said of the salary adjustment. “These are our educationalleaders and this is a way to compensate them fairly.”

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