LAKE CHARLES -- The hiring of Christopher Fontenot as principal of St. Louis Catholic High School (SLCHS) was announced during a faculty and staff gathering at the school on Friday, May 9, according to Mrs. Kimberlee Gazzolo, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lake Charles and The Very Rev. Marcus Johnson, V.F., rector of St. Louis.
Fontenot holds a Education Specialist degree and a Master of Education degree, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree, all from McNeese State University. Fontenot has done doctoral studies at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and has course credits toward a DDS. He also has a post-graduate teacher certification in pedagogy and methods from McNeese.
Fontenot (seen in photo at left speaking to faculty and staff following the announcement of his hiring) has worked in Calcasieu Parish public schools as the principal, since 2006, of Forrest K. White Middle School in Lake Charles, and has served as assistant principal at F.K. White, while also having held teaching positions at Washington-Marion Magnet High School, Reynaud Middle School, and Lake Charles Boston High School.
He holds Louisiana lifetime educational certifications in a variety of areas, including principal, secondary school principal, supervisor of instruction, and a number of others.
Fontenot, a resident of Sulphur, is a candidate for the permanent diaconate for the Diocese with course work in theology, philosophy, Canon Law, Christology, and Scripture during the five-year program of study.
“Mr. Fontenot is an exemplary educator and veteran administrator,” said Mrs. Gazzolo. “I feel confident he will be an asset to the St. Louis Catholic community and I am grateful for the work of the search committee.”
In announcing the choice, Father Johnson said, “The search committee and I believe that the new principal is the best person for the job. At the core of the mission of a Catholic School is God! A Catholic school without Catholic identity is of no value.
As a man of faith, our new principal will be able to build on our long tradition of Catholic education and strengthen it. He himself is a product of Catholic education and an alumnus of St. Louis.”
Fontenot is a 1989 graduate of the school. In remarks made to the faculty and staff, he said. “It is a great feeling to be here – like being at home. I look forward to working with all of you.
Noting that some of the teachers in the crowd were at St. Louis when he attended, Fontenot continued. “I wouldn’t be standing here without some you – some of you taught me.”
Serving on the principal search committee, co-chaired by Father Johnson and Superintendent Gazzolo, were Rev. Msgr. Jace F. Eskind (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception), Board of Pastors ; The Rev. Msgr. Charles Dubois (St. Theodore), Board of Pastors; The Rev. William Miller (St. Margaret of Scotland), Board of Pastors; Judge Charlotte Bushnell (St. Henry), SLCHS School Board; Rusty Stutes (Our Lady Queen of Heaven), SLCHS School Board; Cheryl Riley (Sacred Heart of Jesus), Educator; Dinah Bradford (Our Lady Queen of Heaven), Educator; Robbie Austin (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception), SLCHS Faculty Member.
