School Board Brings Lessons Learned at National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference Back to Zachary

Zachary Community School Board Members Carl Kelley, Jannie Rogers, Sharon Samuel, Gaynell Young and Hubie Owen joined Superintendent Warren Drake and more than 5,000 school board and state school boards association leaders in attending the 2010 National School Boards Association (NSBA) Annual Conference recently in Chicago.

The event focused on helping school board leaders make the tough decisions regarding education they face every day.

NSBA’s Annual Conference offered school board members leadership development and opportunities for collaboration from a nationwide network of colleagues. With a focus on workable solutions for school districts, the conference featured current national topics affecting local education leaders, including school district implementation of the stimulus package. The conference also served as the host of one of the largest expositions of education products and services in the country.

Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association www.nsba.org is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their 95,000 local school board members throughout the United States. Its mission is to work with and through all its State Association members to foster excellence and equity in public education through school board leadership. NSBA achieves that mission by representing the school board perspective in working with federal government agencies and national organizations that impact education, and provides vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation.

Zachary Elementary Students Participate in LSU Coastal Roots Planting Project

Students at Zachary Elementary recently planted bitter panicum nodes and cypress tree seeds as part of the LSU Coastal Roots program. Students also installed a nursery where they will nurture and maintain the seedlings until the fall planting season. Throughout the year, the students will learn about coastal erosion issues throughout Louisiana, while overseeing the entire growth cycle of the plants. Next fall, the students will take the seedlings to Grand Isle, where they will have the opportunity to actually plant the grasses on the beaches of the eroding barrier island. LSU Coastal Roots establishes school-based nurseries at schools within the coastal zone of Louisiana. These nurseries are student managed and are capable of producing native wetland plants for use in habitat restoration. Each school is partnered with a long term restoration site, which they are able to revisit each year for planting trips. There are currently over 40 schools in eighteen parishes participating in the program. Since 2000, 3,573 students have planted more than 29,000 student-produced seedlings in Louisiana. Students from grades 3-12 across 18 parishes of south Louisiana are taking part in this project by establishing wetland plant nurseries at their schools. Students are growing native plant seedlings that they will plant in a coastal habitat restoration project in south Louisiana.

Students are working with a variety of seeds, including the water oak, southern baldcypress, southern wax myrtle, black mangrove, red mulberry, and Spartina alterniflora grass - just to name a few.

ZHS Career Day set for April 23

More than 75 area professionals will be on hand at Zachary High Friday, April 23 to participate in the school's annual Career Day. Participants represent a wide array of career opportunities in fields including medicine, law enforcement, accounting, engineering, the arts and media. This wonderful event will provide students the opportunity to meet individuals from various industries who will help them start to see the future possibilities that education creates for them. Area professionals will address students regarding their workplace, education and training, career path, skills needed for jobs as well as share personal stories from their time in their profession.