CHAMBER LEADERS UNVEIL CURBSIDE CAFE
Livingston Parish’s high school and junior high school students will soon have an opportunity to try new foods and weigh-in on whether to add them to school menus thanks to a new food serving “Curbside Café” trailer that has been created by the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Leadership Team.
The team unveiled the food serving trailer at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 3 at the Denham Springs High School STEM & Robotics Center. The trailer is the outcome of the team’s M.E.A.L.S. project, which stands for Meal Education & Awareness for Livingston Schools.
The “Curbside Café” is a mobile container that has been customized to include kitchen equipment and the necessary specifications for food service.
Pictured, from left to right, are: (back row) Amanda Cook (Brandy Robertson State Farm Insurance), Gene Higginbotham (LPSO), Steve Bernard (Client Technology Services), Thomas Lockhart (Black Label Holdings Real Estate), Jeff Taylor (Livingston Parish Assessor), Jamie Seal (Quality Engineering), April Wehrs (LP Chamber of Commerce President/CEO), Vanissa Murphy (Quality Engineering), Gary O’Neal (C.H. Fenstermaker), Jessie Stewart (Pelican State Credit Union), Tim McMasters (Livingston Parish Assessor’s Office); (front row) Angela Alessi (Holmes Building Materials), Heather Rosenthal (Edward Jones Investments), Chris Neal (Pelican State Credit Union), Amanda Seals (Ochsner Health), Leah Smith (Fika Skon), Lance Landry (LPSO), Christine Patrick (LP Chamber of Commerce),Sommer Purvis (LPPS Child Nutrition), Nicky Gautreau (Bank of Zachary); Kim McDonald (Bank of Zachary), Christina Coats (LPPS Child Nutrition), Jon Burckel (All Star Automotive Group), LP Councilman Garry Talbert; and Brandy Robertson (Brandy Robertson State Farm Insurance).
HOLDEN SCHOOL AND LIVE OAK HIGH SCHOOL NAMED COGNIA SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION
Holden School and Live Oak High School have been named 2022 Cognia™ Schools of Distinction for excellence in education.
Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping institutions and other education providers grow learners, teachers, and leaders. The organization recognizes pre-K to Grade 12 education institutions that exemplify excellence in education and service to learners.
Cognia selected 96 schools in the United States and Puerto Rico and nine in other countries across the globe as 2022 Schools of Distinction.
Holden School and Live Oak High participated in Cognia’s rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process, which is based on research-based performance standards. The process included a third-party review by education experts of evidence, interviews, and classroom observations. The evaluation covered Leadership Capacity, Learning Capacity, and Resource Capacity, as well as a demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.
“These Livingston Parish Schools are to be commended on their recognition as Schools of Distinction,” Cognia President and CEO Dr. Mark A. Elgart said. “Cognia Accreditation is already a mark of distinction recognized around the world. Being named a School or System of Distinction further recognizes the commitment to education quality Live Oak High and Holden School have for their learners.”
SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES COMPENSATION PACKAGE FOR BUS DRIVERS
The Livingston Parish School Board, on a vote of 8 to 1, approved a compensation package last month that would pay drivers $10 per extra run that exceeded their normally assigned monthly routes.
To track the route information, the board also created 30 Driver Team Leaders and agreed to compensate those drivers an additional $1,500 annually.
Superintendent Joe Murphy said the action was made possible by district administrators submitting a letter to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education earlier this school year requesting that the board declare a bus driver critical shortage to allow for a compensation change to comply with federal labor laws.
HIGH SCHOOLERS FROM DOYLE AND HOLDEN LEARN ABOUT POST-GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES
More than 300 high schoolers and family members from the Livingston and Holden communities gathered in the Doyle High School gymnasium on Oct. 18 to participate in a College and Career Fair that included displays and activities from a variety of local industry representatives, businesses, and post-secondary vocational schools and institutions.
“The purpose of the event was to provide our students with valuable information regarding post-graduate opportunities. Students and their family members were able to ask questions and talk one-on-one with representatives,” Doyle High School Principal Lance Dawsey said.
Dawsey noted that students, teachers, school administrators and community members from Holden joined the Doyle High community for the event.
Doyle High School student Natalie Mincin and her parents speak with representatives from the Baton Rouge General School of Radiologic Technology.
Doyle High Schools students Jace Ware, Samantha Davis and Bella Baldwin, pictured left to right, speak with a representative from Tulane University about the many course degrees and extracurricular programs at the university.