Jessie Creech ,
a special education teacher at Warren Easton High School, has been invited to meet with President Bush's Commission on Excellence in Special Education on June 9-10. Creech, who won a prestigious Milken National Educator Award last year, will travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in a roundtable discussion about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Catherine Bres
has been named the first-ever "Rainmaker" by Rain Vodka and the Contemporary Arts Center. The Rainmaker award honors women who foster the development of women and girls in New Orleans. Bres was honored for her work with such organizations as the YWCA, Young Leadership Council, Dress for Success, and the NO/AIDS Task Force.

Marquita Pellerin ,
a recent graduate of George Washington Carver Senior High School, was named a Coca-Cola National Scholar, an honor that comes with a $20,000 college scholarship. Marquita competed against students across the country for one of the 51 scholarships. She was chosen because of her academic achievement, leadership, and service to her school and community.

The Orleans Parish Public Schools system
committed several improprieties that let Alphonse Davis Sr. collect more than $85,000 for 4,132 hours of overtime, according to a recently released audit by Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle. Davis, father of School Superintendent Al Davis, performed maintenance work between July 1999 and December 2001. The audit says that, among other offenses, the OPSB did not provide adequate oversight to make sure hours claimed were actually worked.

Other Stories This Week in News & Views:

Commentary
Respecting Our Elders

News Feature
When Seeing Is Not Believing
Inside Jefferson Parish

Politics
Vitter's About-Face

Penny Post
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