Principal of the Year Semifinalist

After a rapid turnaround in academic performance at Dubach Elementary School, Principal Tiffany Curry is now among the state’s semifinalists for Louisiana Principal of the Year.

The Louisiana Department of Education recently announced 24 semifinalists selected from Principals of the Year named at local districts around the state, and Curry is representing Lincoln Parish on the list with a chance to compete for the top title.

“We’re continuing to show people that great things really do happen at Dubach,” Curry said. “It’s not just a saying. We’re trying really hard, we work really hard, and we are happy that this puts us on a larger platform.”

In 2019 Dubach Elementary was the only D- rated school in the parish and was under threat of closing down due to dwindling enrollment and low performance.

Curry arrived on the scene as a coordinat-ing teacher in 2020 and was later made interim principal in the 2022-23 school year.

After a two- year break from school letter grades due to COVID-19, Dubach improved to a C grade in 2022 and elevated again to a B in 2023 — a rare back-toback letter grade jump.

The school led the way in Lincoln Parish in terms of year- toyear growth this fall, improving its school performance score by 10.5 points. The average growth statewide was less than two points.

The formula that determines school performance scores is shifting to become more stringent this year, so Curry said Dubach’s goal during spring testing is to maintain the school’s B status.

In December Superintendent Ricky Durrett officially elevated Curry from interim to full-time principal, saying it was an “easy choice.”

He said the work Curry has put in to increase community buy-in with the school has paid dividends. “I think Tiffany’s done a great job of connecting with the community and really working to grow the enrollment up there,” Durrett said. “That award would be well deserved by her, and her hard work in the community is being recognized by that.”

He credited Curry for partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Louisians out of Ruston to expand their program to Dubach. That not only provided a reliable place for students to study and do homework, but also a means of afterschool care for parents who may work in Ruston.

Curry said she’s still getting used to being recognized and congratulated by people in the community she doesn’t know, but she’s telling herself to live in the moment.

“It’s starting to be a different feeling, and I’m learning to embrace it,” she said. “We can always look ahead to the next moment, but right now I’m living in this moment as a semifinalist.”

Finalists for Principal of the Year will be announced May 28 at the annual Teacher Leader Summit.

All semifinalists will be honored at the 18th Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Awards Gala at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on July 27.