Laribo
Press Release
Charleston County School District (CCSD) is pleased to announce that Celeste Laribo (right) has been awarded the CCSD Distinguished Service Award (DSA).
The DSA is the highest honorary award that the Superintendent can give a CCSD employee. The DSA is to be granted only to those employees who have given distinguished and/or extraordinary service to CCSD. The achievements or service must be truly exceptional when measured against the position requirements of the individual, and should far exceed the contributions and service of others with comparable responsibilities.
Laribo was given this prestigious honor for her service as the Registration and Residency Officer from September 2015 to November 2020. During her time as the Registration and Residency Officer Laribo standardized the registration process across the district, creating uniform forms and processes and eliminating redundancy and confusion for parents.
In 2015, Laribo was part of the on-line registration implementation team, taking CCSD's from paper forms to the online registration process. Laribo's leadership resulted in the creation of the Residency Task Force. This cross departmental team consisted of principals, level leaders, general counsel, the School Choice team, and the registration team. The task force worked together to recommend, implement, and enforce board policies related to residency verification for all district schools and more specifically, magnet schools.
During the COVID-19 shut down, Laribo led a team that rolled out a fillable registration form and provided detailed processing instructions for schools. Laribo became the primary contact for parents in registering new students.
“Ms. Laribo had a tremendous 28-year impact during her tenure with Charleston County School District,” said CCSD's Chief Financial Officer, Don Kennedy. “Her outstanding leadership, customer service, and commitment to children is highlighted by the efforts she made for students during her service as the Registration and Residency Officer.
During the most recent registration process Laribo and the registration team received more than of 700 registrations between June 8 and September 8, 2020. The team reviewed each of the registration packets and informed the parents and schools of any missing documentation to ensure all registrations were expedited. In addition to the traditional registrations, Laribo coordinated with the Department of Exception Children (OEC) to ensure students were placed in a timely manner. When the OEC determined a child's placement, Laribo received notification and would contact the parent and offer assistance in navigating the registration process.
