Principal's Leadership Award winner announced

Posted on Dec 16, 2008

Rashea Banks, ’09 recently received this year’s Principal’s Leadership Award and will now compete in the national scholarship program.

Of the youths nominated from high schools throughout the country, 100 will be chosen this spring to receive college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $12,000. The competition is sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Heff Jones, Inc., which funds the PLA program.

Rashea was selected for her leadership skills, participation in clubs and service organizations, achievements in the arts and sciences, employment experience and academic record.

“Rashea Banks is one of the most outstanding leaders in the Class of 2009. She has challenged herself with a rigorous academic curriculum over the past four years and has been a star here at Lauralton in all ways--a constant giver to our school community,” said Principal Ann Pratson. “She is a marvelous young woman.”

In addition to serving as class president the past two years, Rashea is a member of the National Honor Society and a Peer Mentor.  She is also a member of the Spanish Club, the Prom Committee, and LH Cares (a group that celebrates the varieties of ethnicities in the Lauralton student body and also tutors children).  An avid volunteer both in and out of school, the honor roll student has also earned many awards:  Outstanding Achievement in Cellular & Molecular Biology, the Laura E. LaFlamme ’88 Book Scholarship Award, Excellence in the study of English Language and Literature, Excellence in Speaking Spanish, The Robin Lewis McGovern ’90 Book Scholarship Award, the National Association of Secondary School Principal’s Citizenship Award, and a Spanish Club Activist award. 

“Every year the nominees for the Principal’s Leadership Award are just phenomenal, and Rashea is no different,” said National Association of Secondary School Principals Executive Director Gerald Tirozzi. “She is an excellent example of what a true student leader embodies and deserves to be commended for her excellence in the classroom and community.”