The St. Landry Parish School Board has extended the contract of Superintendent Patrick Jenkins for another 18 months.
Jenkins, who joined the school system four years ago in November, said the extension will have him leading the system through June 2022.
Jenkins said he feels that his team has been able to accomplish a lot over the past four years.
"I feel great about what we've been able to do," he said. Some of the top accomplishments would be the creation of a strategic plan that guides the system's efforts, as well as improvements in student performance. To see a list of accomplishments, click here to read the system's most recent annual report.
Jenkins is a St. Landry Parish native who had been working in the Baton Rouge area when he took this job four years ago. He said he's glad he took the step to move "back home."
"You know, we have some really great employees and people here," he said. "And it's all about having a team. Everybody believing in the vision. No one person is going to make things go up or down. When everybody believes, the boat is lifted together. And our people are working together to accomplish some great things.
We've done so many things."
For the future, Jenkins said he's aiming to expand the system's Head Start program; build on student performance to increase the system's state grade to a B, and continue to strive to be what he calls a "Triple A school district" - providing students the chance to excel in the Arts, Academics and Athletics.
Jenkins said the system has partnered with other institutions to broaden options for students. He said five students graduated last year with associate degrees, and six will do so this month. Next year, it is hoped that the first students will graduate with skill certificates in the technical college academy, he said.
The first priority on his plate right now is dealing with the impact of the pandemic on students.
"It's battling COVID, how we're going to adjust education to meet the needs of our students and the community going forward," he said.
The next two priorities would be achieving a B grade from the state, and also reaching a 1:1 ratio for technology in the system.
"We're going to continue to chip away at our strategic plan," he said. "There are a number of things we want to be able to do, including expanding academic and extra curricular opportunities for our students."
