School Board accepts two administrator resignations

DONALDSONVILLE — The Ascension Parish School Board accepted retirement for two of its long-time administrators Tuesday night.

Marydine Emery, principal at Donaldsonville Primary School, will retire in July after 36 years in Ascension schools.

Eleanor Lassiter will retire from Gonzales Primary after 22 years as an administrator.

Both women held key positions as leaders of schools in the district’s new Turnaround Zone, a collection of schools that have implemented a pay-for-performance teacher incentive system known as the Teacher Advancement Program, among other targeted programs to improve student performance.

Schools were selected for the zone if they had a School Performance Score below 90 out of 200 points, roughly a D or F on the new letter grade scale.

Human Resources Director Randy Watts praised Emery’s and Lassiter’s dedication to their schools.

“You will truly be missed, I promise you. But in the wings we have other teachers who are positioning themselves and getting ready to fill your shoes,” Watts said.

He then went on to recognize nine teachers who met the requirements for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

The addition of Sherrie Anderson, Lauren Bahlinger, Dorothy Castello, Daryl Comery, Emily Dirks, Kellie Gonzales, Andrea Hughes, Kelly Smith and Dawn Williams brings the district’s total number of National Board-certified teachers to 92, according to the NBPTS.

That puts the district at No. 5 in the state for numbers of teachers who have earned the certification, said Human Resources Director Randy Watts.

“We all know the most important ingredient in education is the quality of the classroom teacher, and I am so honored to be able to celebrate with these teachers tonight,” said Superintendant Patrice Pujol. “I greatly appreciate the hours and hours of hard work that go into this astounding accomplishment.”

This story was updated to reflect retirements of Emery and Lassiter.