With almost 80 years of education and teaching excellence between them, three veteran administrators have been named the 2009-2010 Principals of the Year for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS).  

Each year, the Principals of the Year Awards Program (POY) recognizes outstanding elementary, middle and high school principals in Louisiana public education.  The program emphasizes the vital contribution that talented leaders make in motivating and supporting school staff as they strive to become effective centers of student learning. This year’s district winners are:

Alyce S. Kelly, Principal
Wildwood Elementary School

Alyce Kelly is the school district’s Elementary School Principal of the Year for 2009-2010.  She is the principal of Wildwood Elementary School, which has an enrollment of 500 students in Pre-K through fifth grades.  Kelly has been rated superior in the Louisiana Teacher Evaluation Program, has served on the Baton Rouge Area Foundation Feedback Circle and was named Teacher of the Year in the mid ‘80s at Forest Height Elementary School.  She holds two master’s degrees from LSU, as well as her principal certification.

A 34-year veteran of teaching, Kelly has spent her entire career in this school district.  Her forte was reading instruction, and she previously served as principal of Mayfair Elementary School, as well.  She is a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Louisiana Association of Principals and the National Education Association/Louisiana Association of Educators.   While at Wildwood Elementary, Kelly has urged more parental participation to increase the percentage of students scoring benchmark reading levels – by 9 percent for kindergarten, by 1 percent for first grade, by 10 percent for  second grade and by 2 percent for third grade

Clara J.W. Joseph, Principal
The Staring Education Center

Clara Joseph, a native of Woodville, Miss., is our Middle School Principal of the Year. She presently serves as the principal of the Staring Education Center, a school designed for overage middle school students. She is a 30-year veteran of teaching in this school district alone. Joseph holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a master's in Counseling and Administration/Supervision from Southern University. She has always had a passion to help those in need. Her goal is to be a servant to her students, her family and her community.

What many people may not know is that Joseph is a professional certified cosmetologist. She also is a member of Women of Love, Salvation & Devotion, which is an outreach ministry to help those in need. She is the wife of Minister Alvin Joseph, Jr., the mother of Laetita Bolden and the proud grandmother of sweet little Kya.

Robert M. Webb Jr., Principal
Belaire High School

The school district’s High School Principal of the Year is Robert Webb, principal of Belaire High School.  A former Louisiana Army National Guard medical company member during Desert Storm, he has been working in education since 1993.  Webb is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Louisiana Association of Principals, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the Board of the Knowledge First Foundation. 

He holds a master’s degree in Education from Southern University A&M College and currently is pursuing a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.  At Belaire High School, Webb sees himself as an educational leader and “change agent” with the insight, vision and enthusiasm necessary to inspire teachers and garner positive results from students.  He also enjoys contributing to numerous events that support his wife’s and children’s activities and endeavors.