Gelpi ushers De La Salle through transition period

Yvonne Gelpi, the interim president of De La Salle High School, said the school’s board of trustees has appointed a search committee charged with the responsibility of interviewing and recommending candidates for the president’s position.

After serving as president of De La Salle from 1991-2003, Gelpi retired to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but she was asked recently by the school’s board of trustees to serve as interim president until a new full-time president is named to succeed Ken Tedesco, who resigned in June after nine years of service.

Gelpi said she hoped the search committee would be able to complete its work “as soon as possible.” Under the school’s governance policies, the new president then would hire a new principal to succeed Gina Hall.

The board, chaired by John R. Fox, a longtime participant with the Christian Brothers in education, appointed a search committee that includes as co-chairs Joe Rosolino, associate superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and Sterling Millet, a 1956 De La Salle graduate.

Other members of the search committee include members of the Christian brothers, parents, alumni and community members, Gelpi said. The search committee held its first meeting earlier this week and has received “a number of resumes,” she said.

“The board of trustees hires the president only, and the president then hires the principal,” Gelpi said. “So once the president is named, there will be a principal’s search. They hope to do this as soon as possible. However, they want to be certain they have the best person for the position.”

Classes resume next month
Gelpi was asked by the board to oversee the school during the transition to a new administrative team. She established three goals: to ensure a smooth Aug. 12 opening; to get a clear picture of the school’s finances and balance the budget; and “to provide leadership and stability in this time of transition.”

Gelpi said she was pleased to have been asked to serve as interim president. She had put on her “shorts and flip-flops” and gone to the beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss., buying a home there in June 2005 just two months before Hurricane Katrina hit and destroyed her home. She and her husband rebuilt after Katrina, and now she

is commuting about 60 miles each way to De La Salle.
“This school abides in your soul,” she said. “If you work in this school or come to this school, it touches your heart. I can’t refuse any type of service to it.”

Gelpi said Tedesco left a great foundation for the school, especially noting the upgrades to the physical structure since she left the Uptown campus.

“Everything around here is so spiffy and clean,” she said.
Hall had just successfully completed the process through which De La Salle received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
“The school received 11 commendations, which certified that this is a really good school and is doing what it does very well,” Gelpi said.

Enrollment last year was 430 students, and Gelpi is budgeting for 445 students for the 2011-12 academic year. Peggy St. John, academic assistant principal, is working to make sure the opening of school goes smoothly.
Among the pressures on enrollment, Gelpi said, is the emergence of improved charter high schools since Hurricane Katrina.

“With the decrease in population in the metropolitan New Orleans area since Katrina, there’s been increased competition among Catholic schools for students,” Gelpi said. “Another factor is the emergence of the charter schools.”

Gelpi said De La Salle offers more than 50 years of Catholic school values and traditions. “Many parents want basic instruction in the Catholic faith,” she said. “The religious component is the real differentiation. They also like the fact that this school does drug testing, which means their children can be in a safe, non-drug environment.”

One distressing aspect of the recent administrative transition has been the posting of anonymous comments on newspaper and social media Web sites, Gelpi said.

“One thing I’ve learned has been the speed and impact of social media,” Gelpi said. “It’s something every school is going to have to look at and have an action plan for. It’s difficult when people can say anything they want without any factual basis. They do not realize the people they are harming are the people coming to the school.”
Archbishop Gregory Aymond will be the principal celebrant of a Back to School/Ring Mass Aug. 19 at 10:30 a.m.
Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].