Bossier Schools names principals, teachers of the year and publishes district highlights

Bossier Parish School Board members on Sept. 4 recognized principals, teachers and new teachers of the year and reviewed a district “state of the schools” summary that included graduation, scholarship and program metrics.

At a regular meeting at the Bossier Civic Center, Terry Howe, director of human resources for Bossier Parish Schools, presented the district’s 2025–26 principals of the year and introduced the teachers and new teachers of the year from individual campuses. The awards are sponsored by Bossier Federal Credit Union.

The recognitions included Kathy Turner, named elementary principal of the year for Platt Elementary; Jennifer Burris, named middle school principal of the year for Benton Intermediate and later honored as the 2026 Louisiana Middle School Principal of the Year; and Whitney Clark, named high school principal of the year for Benton High. Jennifer Allen (Benton Elementary), Crystal Wood (Haughton Middle) and Rachel Bryant (Benton High) were named district teachers of the year in the elementary, middle and high school bands, respectively. The board also recognized district winners for new-teacher awards and noted that Michael Shelton was a 2026 Louisiana new-teacher-of-the-year state finalist.

Jill Valentine, vice president of marketing for Bossier Federal Credit Union, said the credit union has been “strong partners with the Bossier school system” and thanked educators for their work. Communications and media officer Sonia Bales summarized districtwide performance data from the 2024–25 school year and said the communications and instructional services departments will publish a stakeholder report online in coming weeks; the district will mail a postcard with a QR code to every household in the parish to publicize the report.

Bales told the board the district had 22,214 students in 2024–25; about 3,000 were identified as military-connected. She said the senior class received more than $24 million in scholarship and TOPS offers, the district produced 1,530 graduates, students earned 6,662 dual-enrollment hours and 3,135 industry-based certifications, and Bossier ranked in the top 15% statewide for ACT composite scores. Bales also said the district has 28 state-designated Purple Star schools (the most in Louisiana) and that child nutrition served more than 3 million meals last year; 28 schools participated in the Community Eligibility Provision, enabling free breakfasts and lunches in those schools.

Why it matters: the awards highlight individual campus leadership and classroom achievements; the metrics provided a district-level snapshot that the administration said it will share publicly to inform parents and taxpayers about student outcomes and district operations.

Additional context from the meeting: a state senate resolution authored by Sen. J. Adam Bass (District 36) formally commended Jennifer Burris for the state principal honor. The board thanked staff and sponsors for their support and reserved time for the business portion of the agenda after the recognition segment.

Speakers at or cited in this portion of the meeting included Terry Howe (director of human resources), Jill Valentine (vice president of marketing, Bossier Federal Credit Union), Sonia Bales (communications and media officer), Superintendent Jason Rowland, and President Newman of the Bossier Parish School Board. Several principals and teachers were named and recognized but did not speak during the presentation.

The board did not take formal policy action as part of the recognitions; the presentation concluded with the communications office’s plan to publish the stakeholder report and distribute QR-coded postcards to district households.