Recently, the Louisiana Department of Education announced the 2021 Louisiana Teacher of the year and Principal of the year in a press release from the Louisiana Department of Education.

Nathalie Roy, of Glasgow Middle School in East Baton Rouge Parish, was named the 2021 State Teacher of the Year while Anita Dione Bradford, of Parkway Elementary School in Vernon Parish, was named the 2021 State Principal of the Year. The announcement was made at the virtual, 14th Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Awards Gala, where  all Teacher and Principal of the Year finalists and semi-finalists were also honored.

2021 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year

At Glasgow Middle School in East Baton Rouge Parish, Nathalie Roy teaches a diverse selection of course offerings including, Roman technology, classical mythology, as well as Latin. This international focus in her courses is a result of her educational background as she’s studied classical archaeology at the American Academy in Rome, where she was a Fullbright scholar, and at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece.

Roy is a National Board Certified Teacher, who has used her experience to publish articles with Cambridge University Press and the American Classical League on topics regarding Roman technology. During the pandemic, she has partnered with the American Classical League to offer free, live-streamed, and kinesthetic lessons on Roman Technology.

At school, her classes are expectedly focused on ancient Roman and Greek life, though it’s similarly infused with STEM. This cross-discipline focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is a particularly unique curriculum idea that has afforded Roy many grant opportunities over the years, and her students benefit from it.

With 63% of her students initially testing at the Approaching Basic and Basic achievement levels rising to 89% at Mastery or Advanced, despite not having prior exposure to classical mythology; it’s a testament to Roy’s teaching and a validation of the deservedness of her title.

2021 Louisiana State Principal of the Year

Parkway Elementary School’s principal Alnata Dione Bradford is (like the State Teacher of the Year) the proud daughter of two educators. While her parents, two Lousisana educators with a combined over 65 years of teaching experience, instilled a dedication and importance of love, faith, and education into their family, Bradford took the lessons to heart as she ascended at Parkway from assistant principal to the title she holds today.

Approximately 580 students from Grades 1-4 are taught at Parkway, which is located near an Army installation in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and over 90% of the school is military affiliated. Each month, Parkway tends to gain or lose a half-dozen students due to station reassignments or military deployments, but despite this fluctuating enrollment, Bradford is rightfully perceived as remaining resilient and ensuring a notable learning impact is made for all of the students for however long they attend Parkway, which was recognized as an “A” school in 2017.

Last year, the school was also recognized as a “Louisiana Top Gains” school with its 10.1 growth points earned, earning it the honor of receiving the most growth district-wide with its School Performance Score (SPS) increasing by 9.6 points. Appropriately this success is due to Bradford’s leadership.

A full listing of previous Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year honorees can be found in the following Louisiana DOE library. Louisiana Teachers and Principals of the Year are chosen by state education leaders, administrators and committees in partnership with Dream Teachers and the Louisiana Association of Principals. All collaborate annually to recognize and celebrate some of the state’s most high-achieving and exceptional educators with the Teacher and Principal of the Year programs.

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