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Tuscaloosa City Schools board spotlights student, team and school awards
Summary
The board recognized multiple student and school achievements — including state and national competition winners at TCTA and Northridge, FBLA qualifiers, Westlawn track champions, and state/national school recognitions — and praised staff for supporting student success.
The Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education on May 19 honored a string of student and school achievements from career-technical competitions to state- and national-level school recognitions.
Destiny Langford, a computer science teacher at TCTA, told the board her students had strong showings at the SkillsUSA state competition: “Last year, we won first, third, and fourth in the competition. This year, we won first, second, second, and fourth,” Langford said, and introduced Adi Gupta, who placed first in computer programming. Gupta, a rising senior at Northridge High School who takes classes at TCTA, credited the program’s infrastructure rather than individual talent: “Anybody, no matter what their experience is, can come into any type of career program here at TCTA…If you use the resources that you’re given, you can really do anything that you need to achieve the results that you want,” he said.
Mr. Harper, the district’s television and film teacher at TCTA, introduced additional students who won state and district medals and described consistent success at competitions, calling the group “state champions and some national champions” and urging continued support for career pathways. Ben Richards, a student representing the program, thanked the board for opportunities to compete and for the preparation he received.
The board also recognized Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students from Central High School and their advisors. Kehlani Hamilton Randolph, an FBLA advisor, and graduate Jared White noted state-level wins and national qualifiers; White said he placed first overall in state public speaking and will represent Alabama at the FBLA national conference in San Antonio.
Coaches and students from Westlawn Middle School were celebrated as city-county track champions. Coach Jamisha Wilder said early-season discipline issues—she suspended nine students—preceded a turnaround that led the team to win every subsequent meet: “We could have had a perfect season, but because of behavior, we did not…I'm super proud of the things that they overcame,” she said.
Northridge High School’s girls soccer team was lauded for capturing the 6A state championship; coaches described a late-game comeback in the title match and noted that parents and staff had been integral to the team’s success. Stars Academy received a CLAS Banner award for social-emotional learning practices. Northridge Middle School was named a 2026 National Gold Star School by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, an honor the presenter said placed the school among 57 national honorees and one of two in Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary was recognized as a 2026 State School of Character; a fifth grader, Janiah Cameron, told the board she perseveres and “has character.”
Board members repeatedly praised teachers, coaches and administrators for building school culture and creating opportunities that, they said, translate into academic and extracurricular success. Several members asked that speakers’ remarks be recorded on video to support district marketing and community outreach.
The recognitions occupied the early portion of the meeting; the board proceeded to regular business afterward.
