Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish School Systems Include Finalists for The Louisiana Students of the Year

Each year The Louisiana Department of Education gives an award to students in elementary, middle/junior high and high school recognizing their outstanding academic achievement, leadership ability and citizenship. This year there are two finalist from Jefferson Parish (Kavia Mallik, Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies and Sriram Srigiri, Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies) and one finalist from Plaquemines Parish (Abigail Brown, Belle Chasse Academy).

The Students of the Year Awards Program which came from the Teacher of the Year Awards Program recognizes a top student from fifth grade, eighth grade and 12th grade from each of the seven Louisiana regions. These 21 regional finalist will compete for the state honor.

Education Superintendent John White called the 21 regional finalists “some of the top students in Louisiana. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are proud of their hard work and leadership.”

The panel which makes up those that decide on the finalist are chosen by each Local Education Agency (LEA), Charter Management Organization (CMO) or diocese Superintendent, CEO or Executive Director. The panel consists of one teacher who teaches the student named for the award, one school administrator, one central office administrator and two to three community members representing business/industry, labor, civic, and (if applicable) charter organizations.

The process is arduous and strict. Each of the regions selects one finalist from each of the three categories. Once the names are submitted to the regional coordinator to the State Student Achievement Selection Committee those that advance are notified. The finalist then go to Baton Rouge for an interview and completion of the selection process.

Awards will be given to the 21 finalist April 10, 2019 at The Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge and the winners from each category will be announced.

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