Teachers of the year are honored at ceremony

By: TONY MARKS
Editor

Teachers from across Evangeline Parish who soar high in nurturing excellence every day on school campuses were honored at the annual Teacher of the Year Ceremony held Tuesday, May 9, at Ville Platte High School. A Red Carpet Treatment followed the event, and a meal was provided at Cajun Catfish and Steak House.
The honorees were treated to prizes totalling over $17 thousand from donations by various sponsors. The biggest sponsors were Cabot Corporation ($3,500) and Hartree Natural Gas Storage ($2,000).
The evening began with a prayer by Evangeline Parish School Board member Bobby Hamlin and an antiphonal welcome by school board members Sheila Joseph, Calvin Leday, and Karen Vidrine with assistance from the Evangeline Parish School District Unity Choir.
The ceremony also featured a participatory glove demonstration, an acknowledgment of Darla Wharton, of Basile High School, as Ms. Impact, the announcement of Misti Fontenot, of Mamou High School, as the district’s Milken nominee, and musical selections from Toddra McKinney and Carleen Bellard.
Among those educators who were honored were Middle School Teacher of the Year Tim Comeaux from Chataignier Elementary. He is also a semi-finalist for state middle school teacher of the year. The teachers of the year from the other middle schools in the parish were: Rebecca Maricle, Bayou Chicot Elementary; Jimi Bergeron, Basile High; Benjamin Fontenot, Evangeline Central; Laura Reed, Mamou High School; Brittany Comeaux, Vidrine Elementary; Justina Capanay, Ville Platte Elementary; and Melony Delahoussaye, Ville Platte High School.
The district’s elementary teacher of the year is Jackie Prudhomme from Chataignier Elementary. From the other campuses were: Jamie Tate Vidrine, Bayou Chicot Elementary; Tina Stagg, James Stephens Montessori; Dawn Babineaux, Mamou Elementary; Lauren Powell, Vidrine Elementary; Tamara Soileau, Ville Platte Elementary; and Paula Callahan, W.W. Stewart.
Deepthi Nali, of Ville Platte High School, was honored as the district’s high school of the year. Also honored were: Kaitlyn Lacaze, Mamou High School; and Rachel Doucet, Pine Prairie High School.