Harlan Kirgan
The news in recent years at Eunice High School has been one of student progress.
In May, the school was recognized as having an 87.1 percent graduation rate with the 2017 class.
The graduation rate is one of the reasons the school’s principal, Mitchell Fontenot, is the St. Landry Parish High School Principal of the Year.
Parish School Board member Mary Ellen Donatto said, “As an administrator he has kept abreast of what is required by the state to improve performance scores and, as a result, definitely improved academics.”
Fontenot, 51, became principal in 2009.
“We’ve been increasing over the last five years,” Fontenot said of the school’s performance on state assessments.
“If we continue doing what we are doing, and I’m looking at projections, we’ve got a really good chance of being an A next year,” he said.
Donatto, whose district includes the school, said, “They are a B school right now and there is a great likelihood they will get to an A...”
Donatto added, “They have pretty much dissected that information in terms of what is needed and aggressively pushed those avenues and that is why they’ve grown. He and his staff have a clear understanding of what is necessary to grow a school academically and to enhance the school performance score.”
Fontenot said, “It is a challenge. Every day is something different. You get to work with great people. We’ve got the best faculty, administrators and everything out here. The kids keep you young and on your toes.”
Also keeping him and his staff on their toes is the state Department of Education and its assessment process.
“It is just so many things change every year. The state department is always implementing new rules and regulations and there is always new tests,” he said.
“It seems like when you get familiar with something and start getting good, they change it to something else,” he said.
A stable staff has helped him and assistant administrators Brett Simien and Kristy McLemore, cope with the changes, he said.
“We haven’t had a big turnover in awhile,” he said of the staff numbering in the 60s.
“I think that is attributable to we’ve got good kids, got good parents, environment, we’ve got a good community. I think that all plays into it,” he said.
I’ve learned to expect you can’t be prepared for everything. It is always something that is going to come up that you’ve never seen before. So, nothing ever surprises you anymore,” he said.
Fontenot said there has been a culture of strong leadership at the school citing former Principal Johnny Bourque, who is this year retiring as Acadia Parish school superintendent.
Fontenot began his work as assistant administrator alongside Wendell Prudhomme, who went on to serve as Central Middle School principal and is now Rayne High School principal.
His days begin around 6 a.m. and end dependent upon activities at the school, he said.
“I don’t think you have any idea what administrators do until you are actually in here,” he said.
“I had no idea how many fires you’ve got to put out,” he said.
Making it worthwhile, he said, “You get that one kid that makes you question whether you want to be a principal or not ... and you see them grow and you see them walk across the stage. And, it only takes one.’
The school has about 640 students and 142 of them will walk across the stage to graduate on Friday.
Donatto, who earned two state designations as an elementary school principal of the year, said, a prime goal is to see children graduate.
“...what we never want to happen to a child is not to at least have a high school degree.”