Ranolviaun Landry, principal at Central Middle School, officially retired Friday after 33 years of working in the educational field.
Landry is looking forward to her new journey. Landry added, “As I embark upon the journey that awaits me, I don’t see it as a new chapter. I see it as an entirely new book.”
Landry served as principal at Central Middle School for the past nine years. Her first educational post was back in 1986 as a teacher at Stepanek Private School in Long Beach, California. She taught fifth through eighth grade English.
Landry plans for retirement as she says is, “To rest!” Landry did admit that she will miss the day to day routine at Central Middle School, and certainly will miss all her staff, teachers, and faculty.
She does extend much gratitude to her disciplinarian, Jasper St. Andre. She said, “Much gratitude to my disciplinarian, Mr. Jasper St. Andre, for always having my back and keeping me sane. He has been instrumental in helping to keep an orderly environment, and I wish him nothing but the best as we part ways.
Landry says her days at Central Middle were challenging, however, those challenges made her stronger. Landry said, “My 33 years in public and one year in the private sector as an educator have impacted me on so many levels.
“There have been many, many wonderful days; nevertheless, there have been many, many, many challenging days. Those wonderful days fulfilled me and made me smile.
“Those challenging days made me stronger, and I began to believe there was nothing I couldn’t handle, but that was just my mindset to get me through each day.
“My years at Central Middle have allowed me to grow as an individual and to view circumstances through different lenses as each situation I encountered called for a different strategy or skill-set. Along with my faculty and staff, we have built a team as we worked tirelessly to serve our students to the best of our abilities despite obstacles and constraints.”
Landry says that her biggest fan and rock is her mother, Audry Landry. “She has encouraged me from day one. Also, I am so grateful for my only sister, Trudy, who has been nothing but supportive as we exchanged “work” stories every evening. We were always trying to figure out which one of us had worked harder on any given day.
Landry welcomes the new principal at Central Middle, Dr. Chastity Wilson. She added, “We have enjoyed a very amicable and seamless transition, the transition has been uplifting as I know I am leaving Central Middle in very capable hands.”
Dr. Chastity Wilson begins her first day of principal at Central on Nov. 4.
