TEACHER OF THE YEAR

The Louisiana Department of Education announced the Emily Ogden, of Rayville High School in Richland Parish as the 2020 High School Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made at the 13th Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Awards Gala in Baton Rouge. The annual awards ceremony is co-sponsored by Dream Teachers, a non-profit organization. Christella Dawson, Neville High School Principal, and Charles Wright, Ouachita Junior High School Principal are other local area educators that were finalists for awards as well. This year, school systems submitted more than 200 nominations for Teacher and Principal of the Year. The Department named 48 semifinalists in April 2019. A state team then narrowed that pool to 18 finalists. Those finalists participated in face-to-face interviews with selection committees led by community and education leaders, and the selection committees ultimately chose the state division-level and overall winners.