Livingston Parish Recognizes Top School Performers
Students, Teachers, Principals and Support Staff Honored
LIVINGSTON, La. – School leaders with Livingston Parish Public Schools held a district-wide ceremony of celebration March 26 at the Walker High School gym to honor those students, teachers, principals, and staff workers who have been recognized as top performers in their respective categories. At the same time, those schools receiving academic achievement awards from the Louisiana Department of Education were also recognized.
“This event is opportunity to celebrate our district’s top performers, to spotlight their achievements and let them know their pursuit of excellence is recognized and appreciated,” said Superintendent Joe Murphy.
The top awards included the following:
Livingston Parish Student of the Year winners -- Elementary Student of the Year Kendall Marie Vaughan, a fifth grader at South Fork Elementary; Middle School Student of the Year Hudson Graham, an eighth grader at Walker Junior High School; and High School Student of the Year Caszandra Joy Dante, a senior at Walker High School.
Livingston Parish Teacher of the Year winners -- Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Edwards, Southside Elementary; Middle School Teacher of the Year Amanda Brian, Denham Springs Junior High; High School Teacher of the Year Anna Harrison, Live Oak High School; and New Teacher of the Year Skyler Champlin, Springfield High School.
Livingston Parish Support Staff Worker of the Year winner -- North Corbin Junior High Secretary Ashely Guzzardo.
Livingston Parish Principal of the Year winners -- Elementary Principal of the Year Ginger Bishop, Northside Elementary School; Middle School Principal of the Year David Clark, Walker Junior High; and High School Principal of the Year Beth Jones, Live Oak High School.
Those nominees from each individual campus were also recognized, along with noted academic achievement awards earned by each school. Those awards were called out by the district and introduced school-by-school. The following is a list of all schools in the districts and those honors that were bestowed to the schools and/or their employees and students:
District 1 –
Doyle Elementary -- Student of the Year Ezra Hill, Support Staff Worker of the Year Sondra Johnson, and Teacher of the Year Brooke Law.
Doyle High School -- Students of the Year Oaklee Bigner and Emma Roshto, Support Staff Worker of the Year Vivian Daigle, and Teacher of the Year Elizabeth Stogner.
Frost School – Students of the Year Olivia Hall and Peyton Ogle, Support Staff Worker of the Year Patty Wheat, and Teacher of the Year Bronwyn Bankston. Frost School was recognized for Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll and as a Top Gains Honoree (achieving a 96.7 score).
Holden School -- Students of the Year Brynleigh George, Bryleigh Thompson, and Leah Estes, Support Staff Worker of the Year Carla Comish, and Teachers of the Year Sharon White and Aaron Carlton. Holden School also received recognition as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree, and recipient of the Highest Assessment Index for High Schools (92.2 points), Highest Progress Index for High Schools (107.1 points), and Highest ACT Index (103.3).
District 2 –
Live Oak Elementary -- Support Staff Worker of the Year Stacy Cobb, and Teacher of the Year Anna Pritchard. The school received recognition as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree and for Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll.
Live Oak High School -- Student of the Year Brianna Burns, Support Staff Worker of the Year Sarah Robinson, District High School Teacher of the Year Anna Harrison, and District High School Principal of the Year Beth Jones. The school was recognized as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree, and recipient of the Highest Graduation Cohort Rate (141.0 points) and Highest Strength of Diploma Index (136.1). Jones has also been named a semifinalist in the Louisiana Department of Education’s Principal of the Year competition.
Live Oak Junior High -- Student of the Year Allie Guthrie, Support Staff Worker of the Year Amanda Bihm, and Teacher of the Year Denise Pickering.
Live Oak Middle School -- Student of the Year Lauren LeBoeuf, Support Staff Worker of the Year Sana Ruiz, and Teacher of the Year Kaitlynn McLin.
North Live Oak Elementary -- Support Staff Worker of the Year Angela Gann, and Teacher of the Year Ashley Buller. The school was recognized as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree.
South Live Oak Elementary -- Support Staff Worker of the Year Jessica Duhon and Teacher of the Year Corley McDaniel. The school was recognized as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree.
Districts 3, 4 and 5 –
Denham Springs Elementary – Student of the Year Emily Broady, Support Staff Worker of the Year Brenda Cook, and Teacher of the Year Eileen Eckler. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree and for achieving Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll.
Denham Springs Freshman High – Support Staff Worker of the Year Gwen Rushing and Teacher of the Year Diane Kuhlman.
Denham Springs High School – Student of the Year Alexandra Fontenot, Support Staff Worker of the Year Ollie Rudison, and Teacher of the Year Megan Lathrop. The school is an Equity Honoree recipient.
Denham Springs Junior High – Student of the Year Gabriela Gann, Support Staff Worker of the Year Lizbeth Guitierrez, and District Middle School Teacher of the Year Amanda Brian.
Eastside Elementary – Student of the Year Elyzabeth Garrett, Support Staff Worker of the Year Stacey Heltz, and Teacher of the Year Jennifer Marquez. The school was recognized as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree.
Freshwater Elementary – Student of the Year Seth Ivy, Support Staff Worker of the Year Jaimie Chambers, and Teacher of the Year Sarah Hodges. The school received Excellence for its Pre-K Honor Roll, was named a Top Gains Honoree and Opportunity Honoree, and earned the Highest Assessment Index for K to 8 (85.3 points).
Gray’s Creek Elementary – Student of the Year Geoffrey McCain, Support Staff Worker of the Year Julianne Sadler, and Teacher of the Year Lacee Williamson. The school was named a Top Gains Honoree.
Juban Parc Elementary – Student of the Year Eli Young, Support Staff Worker of the Year Kimberly Holliday, and Teacher of the Year Heather Miley. The school is a Top Gains and Equity Honoree and earned the Highest Assessment Index for K-8 (87.1 points) and Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll.
Juban Parc Junior High – Student of the Year Chlea Bellony-Ho-A-Sim, Support Staff Worker of the Year Kristen Burkes, and Teacher of the Year Charles Draper.
Lewis Vincent Elementary – Student of the Year Andrew Robinson, Support Staff Worker of the Year Tamekia Cooper, and Teacher of the Year Patricia Underwood. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree and for Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll.
Northside Elementary – Student of the Year Paisley Perkins, Support Staff Worker of the Year Debbie Branton, Teacher of the Year Kelli Lee, and District Elementary Principal of the Year Ginger Bishop. The school was honored as a Top Gains Honoree (95.9).
Seventh Ward Elementary – Student of the Year Josie Digirolamo, Support Staff Worker of the Year Samantha Soileau, and Teacher of the Year Shannon Dyer.
Southside Elementary – Student of the Year Edith Bailey, Support Staff Worker of the Year Lisa Forbes, and Parish Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Edwards.
Southside Junior High – Student of the Year Kyleigh Carlton, Support Staff Worker of the Year Angelia Harriman, and Teacher of the Year Tanner Swain.
Districts 6 and 7 –
Levi Milton Elementary – Student of the Year Alexandra Fabre, Support Staff Worker of the Year Michelle Walker, and Teacher of the Year Meredith Moore Fitzpatrick. The school earned Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll and was named a Top Gains Honoree.
North Corbin Elementary – Student of the Year Grace Aguillard, Support Staff Worker of the Year Christian Hotard, and Teacher of the Year Jing Zhang.
North Corbin Junior High – Student of the Year Claire Puig, District Support Staff Worker of the Year Ashley Guzzardo, and Teacher of the Year Katie Hopkins. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree. Guzzardo is also a finalist for the Louisiana department of Education’s Outstanding School Support Employee Award.
South Fork Elementary – District Elementary Student of the Year Kendall Vaughan, Support Staff Worker of the Year Tammy Willeford, and Teacher of the Year Rachel Gaylor.
South Walker Elementary – Student of the Year Jillian Jordan, Support Staff Worker of the Year Kelly Schayot, and Teacher of the Year Hillary Dickerson. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree.
Walker Elementary – Student of the Year Christian Juneau, Support Staff Worker of the Year Lindsey Burger, and Teacher of the Year Kay Simmons. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree.
Walker High School – District High School Student of the Year Ma Caszandra Dante, Support Staff Worker of the Year Fran Moss, and Teacher of the Year Savannah Normand. The school was recognized as a Top Gains and Equity Honoree.
Walker Junior High – District Middle School Student of the Year Hudson Graham, Support Staff Worker of the Year Joli Davis, Teacher of the Year Brittany Graham, and Parish Middle School Principal of the Year David Clark.
Westside Junior High – Student of the Year Austin Michel, Support Staff of the Year Deborah Lay, and Teacher of the Year Chris Roberts.
District 8 –
French Settlement Elementary – Student of the Year Julia Henderson, Support Staff Worker of the Year Amanda Appleton, and Teacher of the Year Karen Wolfe. The school was recognized for Excellence for Pre-K Honor Roll.
French Settlement High School – Students of the Year Layla Wells and Ramsey Laiche, Support Staff Worker of the Year Della Williams, and Teacher of the Year Angela Leader. The school is an Opportunity and Equity Honoree and was recognized as the Highest DCAI Index (148.3 points), and Highest Graduation Cohort Index (141.0).
Maurepas School – Students of the Year Layla Robinson, Kambree Delatte and Londyn Kirby, Support Staff Worker of the Year Melissa Cowart, and Teacher of the Year Blake Guidry. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree.
Springfield Elementary – Support Staff Worker of the Year Stacey Owens, and Teacher of the Year Stephanie Wickman. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree.
Springfield High School – Student of the Year Ryan Alexander, Support Staff Worker of the Year Shirley Maddox, Teacher of the Year Carol Tate, and District New Teacher of the Year Skyler Champlin. The school was recognized as an Equity Honoree.
Springfield Middle School – Students of the Year Peyton Bigner and Dylan Wall, Support Staff Worker of the Year Stephanie Landry, and Teacher of the Year Darsie Baldwin.
District 9 –
Albany High School – Student of the Year Ariana Shaffett, Support Staff Worker of the Year Stephanie Bankston, and Teacher of the Year Rebecca Buisson.
Albany Lower Elementary – Support Staff Worker of the Year Belinda Ford, and Teacher of the Year Joanna Hoyt. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree and earned the Highest Progress Index for K-8 (121.5 points).
Albany Middle School – Students of the Year Lillian Torres and Caragen Catlin, Support Staff Worker of the Year Kimberly Smith, and Teacher of the Year Connie Bond. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree.
Albany Upper Elementary – Support Staff Worker of the Year Donna Badon and Teacher of the Year Marlyn Davis. The school was recognized as a Top Gains Honoree and received the award for the Highest Progress Index for K to 8 (121.5 points).
LPPS Teachers of the Year – Pictured from left to right are the 2024 Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Edwards, Southside Elementary; 2024 Middle School Teacher of the Year Amanda Brian, Denham Springs Junior High; Superintendent Joe Murphy; and 2024 High School Teacher of the Year Ann Harrison, Live Oak High School.
LPPS New Teacher of the Year – Pictured are Superintendent Joe Murphy and 2024 New Teacher of the Year Winner Skyler Champlin, Springfield High School.
LPPS Support Staff Worker of the Year – Pictured are Superintendent Joe Murphy and 2024 Support Staff Worker of the Year Ashley Guzzardo, North Corbin Junior High School. Guzzardo is also a semifinalist for the Louisiana Staff Worker of the Year competition.
LPPS Principals of the Year – Pictured left to right are the 2024 Middle School Principal of the Year David Clark, principal of Walker Junior High; 2024 Elementary School Principal of the Year Ginger Bishop, principal of Northside Elementary; Superintendent Joe Murphy; and 2024 High School Principal of the Year Beth Jones, principal of Live Oak High School. Jones is also a semifinalist for the Louisiana Principal of the Year competition.