S A STRAR TT
St.Tammany students head back to school
BY ANDREW CANULETTE Staff writer
Aug. 8was the first day back to school for at least half thepublic school students in St. Tammany Parish, and Schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia visited FloridaAvenue Elementary School in Slidell to help theyoungsters therekick off the school year
Editor’snote: “Where are they
Each
We’ll
This
Students whose last name starts with A-L reportedfor a“Smart Start Day” on Aug. 8and thosewith names starting with M-Z reported on Aug. 9. The full student bodies of each of the district’s55public schoolswere dueback on campus on Aug.12.
St. Tammany began using Smart Start Days during the COVID pandemic to help thincrowds during the days of social distancing. The practice created asmoothtransition for students, district leaders said, so Smart Start Days have continued. St. Tammany Parish is the fourth largest public school district in Louisiana, with morethan38,000 students registeredfor the 2024-25 schoolyear.The systemisalso the parish’slargest employer,with approximately 5,500 people on the job.
SQUAD GOALS
Andrew Tarbell’spro soccer odysseycontinues
BY KIM CHATELAIN
Contributing writer
WhileNFL teamstend to be loaded with playersfromLouisiana, thesamedoesnot hold true for Major LeagueSoccer rosters.
Thestate typically has three or four players sprinkled through the 29 teams that make up the MLS, whichlastyear alonehad athletes from 81 countries across six continents on its rosters.
When youput thosenumbers in play,itseems unlikely that akid from Mandeville would endup being an eight-year professional soccer league veteran with asolid resume andanMLS Cup championship under his belt.
ButAndrewTarbell’s somewhat inconspicuous rise from the St. TammanyParish sandlots to the top-flight professionalsoccer league in the United States and Canadaisnot viewed as along
School BoardOKs unionagreement
BY BOBWARREN Staff writer
After another hourslong debate, the St. Tammany Parish School Board voted Aug. 9toadopt anew pact with the employees’ union, putting to rest fornow an issue that has roiled the school district for the past twomonths.
The board’sapproval of thetwo-yeardealwiththe St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees came afteranother round of speeches by union members saying they feel under attack and board members explaining their commitments to their constituents.
The de ba te touched on national politics —and St. Tammany’ssupport, or lack thereof, of laborunions —as well as employee law,and even the vitriolthatthe saga has generated.
Second try
In past years, approval of the agreement hasn’tgenerated nearly the heat that it didthissummer.SchoolsSuperintendent Frank Jabbia andFederation President Brant Osborn spent several months negotiating adeal, but theboardrejected it in early July.That set the stage for more public comment, a new round of negotiations between Jabbia andOsborn and, finally,the Aug. 9vote. Whenitrejected the first proposed agreement, the boarddid approve themodest employee pay increases includedinit. Butthe debate over the past few weeks didn’thinge on moneysomuchas whether or not there was even aneed for acollective bargaining agreement at all.
The board’svote was 10-4, with board members Matthew Greene, GiaBaker,DeborahMcCollum and Brandon Harrell opposing. Board memberMichelle Ruffino Gallaher abstained.
Known as the collective bargaining agreement, the document addresses myriad employee issues, ranging frompay andbenefits to due cause and transfer processes. St. Tammany is one of five school districts statewide that still works under acollective bargaining agreement with its employees’ union.
Jabbia said a streamlinedCBA emerged from the second round of negotiations and urged the board to adopt it.
Anumber of employeesand other union supporters saidthey viewed theagreementasa safety net of sorts, one that adds power to their voices. “The CBA situation is addingtoteachers’ perception of their powerlessness and, quitefrankly,theirfeeling of being attacked,” one speaker,David Locker,told the board. But some board members disagreed. Baker said thedistrict’s ap pr ox im at el y6 ,0 00
BY KIMCHATELAIN
Contributing writer
The Covington City Council underwentsignificantchange on Aug. 6with the swearing in of one new member,the departure of two interim members anda newseat for an existing member
The council has seen plenty of turnover during the past year,triggered by itstwo former at-large members —Larry Rolling and Rick Smith —winning seatsonthe St. TammanyParish Council. The domino effect of their move to parish government was evident by musical chairs-like meeting on Aug. 6. Todd Burrall wassworn in as the District
STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN MCCUSKER
St. Tammanyschool Superintendent Frank Jabbia greets students at Florida Avenue ElementaryinSlidell on Aug. 8.
Harrell
Baker
PROVIDED PHOTO BY TARBELL FAMILY
AndrewTarbell is agoalkeeper for the Houston Dynamo FC of Major League Soccer
“My plan is to rideitout and keep going as long as possible. It’sbeen great formyyoung family, formyself, forthe life experiences and travel.”
ANDREW TARBELL, on his soccer career
Tarbell, left, defends theDynamogoal in arecent game.
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shot to those who knew him “back when.”
Mike Ortner,who coachedthe young Tarbell in club soccerand went ontoguide theSt. Scholastica Academygirls team to six state titles, said Tarbell’scombination of athleticism,technique and work ethic pointed to agreat future inthe sport
“Weknew he was goingtobeaspecial player from thestart,”saidOrtner,who has remained close toTarbell andstill attends some of his pro games. “At avery young age, he was able to pick things up that other kids couldn’t quite grasp.”
ADynamogoalie
Tarbell, 30, is currently agoalkeeper for the Houston Dynamo, one of 14 teams in the Western Conference of MLS. But his journey in the sportbegan acouple of decades ago as aplayer withthe Mandeville Soccer Club Lakers, where he blossomed into atop-notchgoalie.
As apreteen, Tarbell played avariety of sports, his dad John Tarbellsaid. He played baseball but gave that up in his freshmanyearwhen the baseball andsoccer schedules began to conflict.
Andrew Tarbell did participate in track and field at Fontainebleau, winning aregional title in the javelin and finishing second in the Class 5A statemeet as ajunior in 2011.
Despite that success, soccer reignedas the teenager’stop sport
“Wecould tell he had areal passionfor soccer,” said John Tarbell, who played basketball at the collegelevel.
During his time at Fontainebleau High School, Tarbell waswidely heralded as one of the top goalies in the New Orleans area. During the summersof2010 and 2011, he also played for theNew Orleans Jesters of the NationalPremier Soccer League.
After graduating from Fontainebleau High in 2012, he wentontoplay at Clemson University.Asa senior he helpedlead theTigers to the NCAA Division INational Championshipgame against Stanford During his final season with Clemson, Tarbell led the Atlantic Coast Conference in saves with 84. He was selected tothe All-Atlantic Coast Conferencefirst team andwas asecond team All-American as agoalie, the most specialized positionin the sport.
Whilegathering accoladesonthe soccer field, Tarbell alsomanaged to pick up adegreeincivil engineering at Clemson. He was draftedinthe first roundfirst
PROVIDEDPHOTO BY COLUMBUS CREW
Andrew Tarbell shined forthe Columbus Crewin2020 as the team wonaMajor League Soccer championship. The Fontainebleau Highgrad and Mandevilleareanativeposted twoconsecutive shutoutsasthe Crewgoalkeeper in the playoffs that year
roundofthe 2016 Major League Soccer
Superdraft by the San Jose Earthquakes.
In 2020, he was traded to the Columbus Crew,where he was part of that season’s championship team.
In theCrew’srunup to the championship, Tarbell started two consecutive playoff games, including a2-0 win over Nashville SC during which he had fivesaves. The other was a1-0 victoryoverthe New England Revolution where he had three saves. He spent two seasons with Austin FC before signing atwoyear contract with the Dynamo for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Thegoals of agoalie
chise nothing short of ablessing. Compared to San Joseand Columbus, Ohio, Houston is but ahop, skip and akickfrom Mandeville.
PROVIDEDPHOTO
Tarbell, in 2011, during his days at Fontainebleau High School
Tarbell and Caroline Maxwellmet while they were students at Fontainebleau High School. They were married in 2018 and now have two children —James, 2, and Teddy,6 months.
Tarbellconsiders hissportsodyssey and his landing with the Houston fran-
“It’sbeen apretty coolride so far,” he said. “Being here now has been fantastic at this stage of our lives with our kids. It allows us to share all of this with our parents and friends fromback home,” he said. “So, it’sbeen areal blessing to end up here.”
Tarbell understands Father Time is undefeated and that he won’tbe able to compete at aworld-class level forever.But for now,he’sstill contributing to his team’ssuccess
In an Aug. 5game against Real Salt Lake, Tarbell recorded five saves, including two big ones when the score was 1-0, in Houston’s3-0 win.
“My plan is to ride it out and keep going as long as possible,” he said of his soccer career. “It’sbeengreat formyyoung family,for myself, for the life experiences and travel.”
Once his playing days are over,Tarbell said he expects that his family will return to St. Tammany
“(Caroline and Iare) very close to our families,” he said. “We’re lucky to have awonderful family living in Mandeville. That’s wherewewanttobe, especially after moving all around the country for years. There’sjust no place like home.”
Once he hangs up his cleats, Tarbell said he may try to dust off and make use of his civil engineering degree, which is a source of pride for him.
“I went into school (college) really focused on school because Ididn’tknow that professional soccer would be aroute Iwould take,” he said.“As farasbeing able to use that degree now,10yearsafter graduating, I’mnot quite sure.
“For now,I’m staying fully committed to playing. OnceI feel like the time to transition out has come, I’ll have confidence in myself that I’ll be able to figure out what it is Iwant to do.”
Ortner,Tarbell’sformer coach and mentor,said he has no doubt the Mandeville goalkeeper’sfuture goals will not be blocked.
How does he know?
Because, he said, “Andrew is as good of ahuman being as he is an athlete.”
Email Kim Chatelain at kchatelaintp@ gmail.com.
TARBELL
PROVIDED PHOTOBYTARBELL FAMILY
Tarbell with his wife, Caroline, and children James, 2, and Teddy, 6months.