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RESERVE – Schools across St. John the Baptist Parish resumed this week after a two-week winter break. Cory Butler, the new interim superintendent, released a welcome message on the St. John Parish Public Schools website. He expressed his excitement, but noted that all hands on deck are needed with annual standardized testing on the horizon.

The video relayed the points he and his team wish to accomplish during the remainder of the school year. The first was fiscal responsibility, making sure that all the money spent is aligned with the current practices of the Louisiana Department of Education.

Next was employment recruitment and retention, which includes not only teachers but also the custodial staff that tends to the building, the cooks that feed the children and the secretaries that check the students in and out of school. All staff members are significant according to Butler. He acknowledged they are as important as the leaders.

The third point was culture and climate, which involves trust among the students, parents and businesses as well as their belief that the school system is getting the job done. Butler continued by saying that everyone plays a role in “shaping the whole child, not just academically but socially.”

Students need social skills to attend college and stay in college, Butler said. If students choose to enter the workforce, the school system must first equip them with the academic and social skills needed to maintain a high-earning job.

The final goal is teacher support and providing help as needed. He cited the growing presence of the curriculum team as a part of this effort.

Butler also asked a few moments of silence for Bernadine Sanders, a member of the St. John Public Schools family who recently passed away. Sanders served as an executive secretary for the School Board.

Butler’s message can be viewed at www.stjohn/k12/la.us/apps/news/article/1143253.