By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — The Lincoln Parish School Board met for its monthly meeting Tuesday at the Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center auditorium and honored state finalists, named new staff, and approved supplemental checks for certified and support staff.
After an introduction from LPECC Principal Amy Brister, LPSB Communications Coordinator Brandon Sutherland presented plaques for both Avery Dixon of Ruston Junior High for qualifying for a finalist for Louisiana Middle School Student of the Year and Choudrant High Principal Chris Jones for qualifying as a semi-finalist for Louisiana Principal of the Year.
Wendell Crowe was then introduced as the new principal of I.A. Lewis School, followed by Emily Howell introduced as the Chief Academic Officer for the parish, replacing Dana Talley, who left at the end of 2024.
LPSB Superintendent Ricky Durrett said he was pleased with both of the hires.
“We’re excited about Wendell taking the next step,” Durrett said. “He’s done a great job for 10 years at Ruston High School (as a teacher and assistant principal). I’m really proud of his progress, and I think he’ll be a great principal there. It’s a struggling school right now, but I do believe with his leadership and some ideas on things that he has coming that we’re going to see great things for our sixth grade center.
“And (Emily) is a tremendous hire, and we’re excited. I want to think Dana Talley — she did a great job and laid the foundation for a lot of things. We look forward to working with Emily, and we know what she’s done in our district with English and the scores that we’ve had and the growth we’ve seen from kids. And her leadership, work ethic and dedication to kids learning and getting the best out of them, from Kindergarten to seniors taking the ACT. Having her own kids in the system is also a bonus, as she’s seen the curriculum that we’re using firsthand. It’s a great step for her, and I look forward to her taking us on to bigger and better things.”
Crowe expressed his excitement to begin his tenure at I.A. Lewis as principal.
“It’s a very exciting moment to return to I.A. Lewis,” Crowe said. “It was almost 20 years ago when I was hired there initially. I think they have a great staff already in place over there, and I’m excited to get back to work with them.”
Howell, too, is looking forward to her new role.
“I’m very excited to keep moving forward in Lincoln Parish,” Howell said. “I’m passionate about this district, and I wouldn’t want to live or work anywhere else.”
Both Crowe and Howell will be in their roles officially on July 1, 2025, though they are currently making preparations for a smooth transition.
“They have both already hit the ground running,” Durrett said. “Wendell is already meeting with administrators and others at I.A. Lewis, and while Emily is still teaching, she’ll still start meeting with our whole academic team and leading them.”
At the request of LPSB Network Administrator Seth Grigsby, the board then voted to reject bids for fiber circuit at the site for the new Ruston High Softball Complex with the plan to rebid with more detailed specifications during next year’s Erate filing window.
Maintenance Supervisor Ricky Edminston then advised the board to reject bids for 46 HVAC Units total for both Simsboro School and Ruston Elementary and re-submit a bid that would put in for 28 units at Simsboro, 28 at Glen View and 18 at Ruston Elementary. The board voted unanimously for both motions. The goal will be for all units to be installed by July 31, 2025.
The board also approved May Salary Supplement (14th) checks — $3,436 for certified staff and $1,718 to support staff.
Dr. Laura Cassidy and Jenny Morse then co-presented on the launch of Ruston’s branch of the Louisiana Key Academy, a free-tuition charter school solely for students that have been diagnosed with dyslexia that have fallen behind in learning benchmarks. Cassidy noted that St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Ruston will house the academy, which will be for third, fourth and fifth grade students. The Ruston location will open in August.
When asked, Cassidy said that screening for dyslexia will be done in-house.
“We screen the children for free,” Cassidy said. “We understand that most kids can’t come to a psychologist, so we do that for free.”
According to its most recent financial report, the Louisiana Key Academy “operates under a contract with the Louisiana Department of Education as a Type 2 charter school with a contract term from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024. The contract was renewed for an additional three years on July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.”
Finally, Dr. Williams of District 1 then spoke on her time at the 2025 COSSBA National Conference. Toward the end of the meeting, George Mack Jr. of District 11 honored Williams for becoming a certified board member from the Louisiana School Board Association for her extensive training hours, accumulating 20 total when the minimum for a year is six.
“That is an outstanding accomplishment,” Mack said. “It puts our board and this community in a great light. She has gone above the normal six hours that we do — it is above and beyond.”
Otha Anders and Joe Mitcham were both absent.
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