By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

BOUTTE – New St. Charles Parish Public Schools Superintendent Felecia Gomez-Walker, already a familiar face in the school system, reinforced the district’s place and value in the community with a meet and greet at the Professional Learning Center in Boutte.
She said her first couple of months on the job have gone extremely smoothly, something she is pleased about as she wanted the transition to have as little effect on the students as possible.
She credits this to the staff and faculties at the various schools as well as at the central office. She said community support has also played a large part in the easy changeover.
“I think those are the ingredients of a successful school system,” she said, adding, “I’ve had wonderful mentors throughout my career.”
Gomez-Walker said she has visited every school in the parish since the start of the school year, and aside from the usual start-of-school hiccups, she has not noticed any major problems. She added that the district has not suffered a large exodus of students because of the statewide voucher program.
“About 95 percent of our students attend our school system,” she said. “We have a high quality school system.”
Attendees of the meet and greet got to see the school district’s new promotional video, “The Faces of St. Charles.”
“I’ve seen the video at least a half-dozen times, and each time I see it, it moves me,” said Gomez-Walker. “The partnerships we have in this community, you can go in any direction. We have something unique in St. Charles Parish.”