Fort Zumwalt School District hires Henry St. Pierre as its next superintendent

The Fort Zumwalt School District in St. Charles County has named Henry St. Pierre as its next superintendent. He starts the top job at the district in July.

St. Pierre has been a teacher and school administrator at the district since 1996. He first started as an English teacher at North High School in O'Fallon. He later became principal at East High School in St. Peters.

He then went on to work as an administrator for the district, most recently working as deputy superintendent. St. Pierre helped develop the district's Continuous School Improvement Plan, which addressed teacher recruitment and retention.

Much like the rest of the country, the school district faces a shortage of teachers, substitutes and bus drivers to support its nearly 17,000 students.

"If we are able to recruit and retain highly qualified staff then that makes all of the other areas possible, because, at the end of the day, it's the people in the buildings that do all of the great work that happens in the district," St. Pierre said in a statement.

He'll step into the new role after Superintendent Paul Myer retires this summer.

Myer, who has been with the district for 26 years — two as superintendent — announced his departure at the start of the school year.

"On both a personal and professional level, I consider it a great gift to have been a part of Fort Zumwalt School District," Myer said.