An energetic and upbeat crowd of educators filled the Lafon Performing Arts Center in Luling Friday as the St. Charles Parish Public Schools held its annual kickoff event for the school year.
This year’s event was titled Back on the River and it also saw representatives from business, industry as well as parish leaders in attendance at the event, which held a morning and afternoon session for the district’s employees.
The celebration featured performances by student singers Gabrielle Touchard and Landon Villeret and a bit of dance off fun featuring school mascots and band members. Central to it all was the event’s theme – “You belong here.”
Superintendent Dr. Ken Oertling welcomed everyone back to help kick things off – but as it turned out, Oertling himself received a surprise “welcome,” as a special video package was shown to honor him for being named the state’s Superintendent of the Year. Highlighting that presentation was a special heartfelt message from one of Oertling’s childhood teachers, Betty Allen.
The event annually sees leadership welcome school employees for their first day back to work, addresses upcoming goals and shows appreciation for what these educators do to prepare students for the future – all alongside a bit of pep rally-like hyping up for the year to come.
The 2025 event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Matt Dillon, Superintendent of Petal School District in Mississippi for the past 11 years. Dillon’s district has been named tops in his state multiple times. He has also served as a teacher, coach and principal at multiple school levels.
Other highlights during his tenure include the passing of a bond referendum in May of 2023 with an approval rating of more than 80 percent; the establishment of “Petal U” – a collaborative program with the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to grow the administrative pool of applicants for future leadership positions within the PSD; and a teacher residency program partnership with USM, where student teachers spend one full year in the PSD gaining experience while establishing a rapport within the district as part of Petal’s recruitment and retention efforts.
Dillon kept the mood light and the room laughing – he did, indeed, ensure the attendees understood that he was ‘not’ the iconic Gunsmoke U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, nor 1990s film teenage heartthrob Matt Dillon – but also made his main point effectively: that the teachers in the Lafon Center Friday were the school district’s heartbeat.
Consistency, he reminded them, is key.
“You see many musical artists, maybe they have a special song that hits the top of the charts and it makes millions of dollars. Then they go on to make an album and it flops … it’s those highs and lows. What I’m looking for in my district, and I think the same can be said here in this district, is to have that sustained success and keep getting just a little bit better,” Dillon said.
He also stressed the importance of working together to help propel their students to success.
“You’re going to work with unique people,” Dillon said. “Over the next week, you’ll work with unique colleagues – maybe they don’t have the same political views as you, religious views as you, but you have a responsibility as a team to come together and do what’s best for your students.”
He shared a few personal stories to illuminate the day’s theme of belonging.
“Ms. Regina Ford at Columbia Elementary School … I can remember one assignment I had in her class, to write what you wanted to be when you grow up. And I wanted to be a Major League Baseball catcher,” Dillon said. “Only problem with that – I was one of the slowest runners. I couldn’t hit well, see well or throw well … but she saw that is was important to me. So when I looked up at one of my games and I saw my mom, my dad, and wouldn’t you know it, I saw Ms. Ford in the stands. I probably lit up more when I saw her than my parents, because it was special.
“I can’t tell you one thing she taught me how to do, but it didn’t matter. I just knew I belonged in her classroom, I belonged as a part of her family, and that’s what mattered to me.”
