The meeting room for the LaSalle Parish School Board’s January 6 meeting was packed last week as the 2025-2026 Teachers of the Year were recognized by the Board. Each of the nine parish schools elected a Teacher of the Year from their school and from those, the parish-wide Teachers of the Year were chosen. This year’s recipients for LaSalle Parish Teacher of the Year were: K-2 Elementary Division – Amanda Mason; 3-5 Elementary Division – Alicia Cubbit; Junior High Division – Diana Price; and High School Division – Victoria Smith. Amanda Mason has been teaching for 20 years and currently teaches Kindergarten at Jena Elementary. She holds a BS in Elementary Education with an add-on of Early Childhood Education Certification. She was also JES’s Teacher of the Year. Alicia Cubbit has been teaching for six years and currently teaches 4th Grade Science and Social Studies at Olla-Standard Elementary. She holds a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She was also OSES’s Teacher of the Year. Diana Price has been teaching for 17 years and currently teaches 6th Grade ELA at Jena Junior High School. She holds a Master’s Degree in Instructional Design from Western Governors University. She was also JJHS’s Teacher of the Year.