The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) honored Deputy Superintendent Trey Folse with a Capital One Bank Keller Award for Innovation at its November 18 recognition ceremony in New Orleans.

The BGR, a private, non-profit, independent research organization, is dedicated to the effective use of public resources for the improvement of government in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. Its awards program started in 1994 and singles out individuals for outstanding performance and creative problem-solving. Only eight persons from the New Orleans area are being recognized for 2008 at the BGR function.

Folse was one of three receiving the Capital One Bank Keller Award for Innovation, which recognizes persons who have used innovative solutions to solve pressing problems. It is named in honor of ...

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Students Attend First Teaching Academy Conference ::..

More than 70 junior and senior students and their teacher sponsors from high school teaching academies throughout the St. Tammany Parish Public School System attended a special conference at the Instructional Technology Center November 12, the first Teaching Academy Conference held to encourage young people to consider careers in education.

The six-hour program included several discussion sessions and presenters, including Dr. Nicki Anzelmo-Skelton, Ed.D., of Southeastern Louisiana University. She was instrumental in establishing the state department of education’s STAR program, which stands for Students Teaching and Reaching. That program gives college credits to high school students taking educational courses in preparation for a teaching career.

The event’s theme was “Aim for the STAR,” and the highlight of the event ...

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McCurley Named Principal of New High School ::..

Brennan McCurley will be principal at the new high school on Hwy. 1008, having been appointed by the St. Tammany Parish School Board at its November 13 meeting following a recommendation by Superintendent Gayle Sloan.

Currently principal at Slidell Junior High, McCurley will begin work in January in his new post, readying the new high school northeast of Mandeville for its first students in the fall of 2009.

“I thank you for this awesome opportunity, for entrusting this brand new school to me,” McCurley told the Board after its vote. “I assure you that I will do everything I can to make it the best school it can possibly be.” He said he looks forward to working with the community ...

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New Elementary School in Madisonville Area Named After First Superintendent ::..

The St. Tammany Parish School Board agreed November 13 to name the new elementary school being planned for the Madisonville area in honor of Joseph B. Lancaster, the first officially-recorded superintendent of the St. Tammany Parish Public School System.

Superintendent Gayle Sloan recommended him for the honor after discovering, during research of the School System’s history, Lancaster’s many contributions to the community as lawyer, district attorney, judge, and state representative. “He was a very high-achieving individual,” she said.

 He was named Superintendent by the first School Board in 1900, after it became an organized set of schools with parishwide administrative supervision and community governance.

His writings from the time convey his vision for the educational future of St. Tammany. At ...

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