TCS Families,

This newsletter includes recent news and highlights from across the Tuscaloosa City Schools. I encourage you to read below to learn more. From winning national engineering scholarships to competing in statewide robotics competitions, our students are excelling—particularly in the areas of STEM. We couldn’t be prouder.

Also of note, our longest-serving current principal, Dr. Lucille Prewitt, has announced her plans to retire after more than 41 years with TCS, including 26 years as principal of Oakdale Elementary. Her impact on Oakdale, the surrounding community and our district has been profound. We are deeply grateful for her dedication and service—just as we are for all of our retirees. In total, we will honor 34 retirees later this month, including Dr. Prewitt.

We will begin the search for Oakdale’s next principal soon to ensure a strong and dynamic leader is in place to continue the school’s progress next year.

Thank you for your continued support and for choosing Tuscaloosa City Schools.

Mike Daria
Superintendent, Tuscaloosa City Schools

A Paul W. Bryant High School senior has won a $40,000 scholarship and engineering internship from Amazon—and is the only student from Alabama to do so.

Javoris Lake, 17, is one of 400 students in 40 states nationwide to receive the prestigious Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship. He is also the first recipient ever from the Tuscaloosa City Schools. He was notified that he had received the scholarship on April 12.

“I think it's a huge blessing,” Lake said. “You know, I try to stay faithful to God, and I feel like he's the one that's granted me this opportunity. And you know, I'm really blessed, especially to be the only person in Alabama to receive the scholarship, but just to have the opportunity.”

Lake, who will graduate next month and is currently top of his class with a 4.3 GPA, is trying to decide between The University of Alabama and the University of Michigan for college. But, one thing is certain: he will major in engineering, a field he has become passionate about through classes, he said, first starting with computer science in middle school. In high school, he’s continued computer science but continued in other classes at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, including construction, modern manufacturing and engineering courses.

“I’ve really enjoy computer science and building websites and designing different things. There's a lot of stuff that actually goes into it that you don't see.”

Lake has been busy outside of the classroom, too, as he has worked at Mercedes Benz in Vance for the last year as part of their apprenticeship program. He also serves as an ambassador for the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy and on the Superintendent Student Advisory Group for Paul W. Bryant High School.

TCTA computer science teacher Destiny Ramey said she was “beyond excited” that Lake won the scholarship, but that she wasn’t surprised because he has excelled in everything he has done.

“I've had kids apply for this for the past four years, and nobody's ever gotten it until now,” Ramey said. “I just think he's so deserving, because he puts in so much hard work. He works at Mercedes, and then he's doing all these different things from construction and engineering and computer science, and he's just like an awesome kid.”

As part of the scholarship, Lake will receive a total of $40,000 for college – up to $10,000 per year—and an engineering internship with Amazon the summer after his freshman year in college.

“We are so proud of this young man and how he is representing not just Paul W. Bryant High School, but the Tuscaloosa City Schools and the state of Alabama,” said TCS Superintendent Mike Daria. “It the vision of TCS to prepare our students up for life and career success, and we have also put an emphasis on STEM education. Javoris is an excellent example of a student who has benefitted from both in TCS. We are excited to watch where his career leads, because undoubtedly, he has a bright future ahead.”

TCS Families, please remember that just like school was closed to students today, there is NO school for students tomorrow, Friday, April 18! The schools are closed for students that at that time as staff come to work for professional development & planning.

The Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education had a packed house at its meeting Tuesday as it recognized students who participated and placed in the Alabama Robotics Competition at The University of Alabama on April 5.

The competition had 61 teams from 43 schools across the state. In addition to the 235 student participants, approximately 400 attendees watched as students had to think critically, work together, and adapt to challenges as they wrote code for their robots to handle certain tasks. Among the winners include Paul W. Bryant High School, which earned a perfect score of 300/300 and taking home 1st place overall!

"Let me tell you what they did: not only did they score a perfect 300, they did this in 52 minutes," said Dr. Jeff Gray, professor of computer science at The University of Alabama. "I've never seen anything like it ... in like 14 years of doing this, and they've been on the stage before many years. I think that's just a testament to just continuing doing what we are doing, getting these students interested (in robotics). So first place in the state of Alabama for our body contest, Paul Bryant High School with a perfect score."

Other TCS schools also placed: Tuscaloosa magnet Elementary placed second in the elementary category; Northridge Middle School placed third in the middle school category and Northridge High School placed third in the high school category. Eastwood Middle School placed fifth in the middle school category, narrowly missing 4th place by only three points.

"We've been at this work probably for the better part of 10 years, and where this system is now in a robotics programming competition in all schools across the school system is far different from where we were when we really got to this work 10 years ago," said Superintendent Mike Daria during the meeting. The system now has a robotics team in every TCS school. "Watching you all work these problems and solve them as a team, and that part's really important. It's one thing to be able to code and to do this, but to be able to work as a team and to do the critical thinking and the collaboration, it's what we're about as a school system."

The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education approved a list of personnel changes Tuesday that included the retirement of the system's longest serving current principal, Dr. Lucille Prewitt. Prewitt, principal of Oakdale Elementary, was hired by TCS in 1983, and taught at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary for 16 years. She has served as principal of Oakdale since 1999.

"Serving in TCS for the past 42 years and principal of Oakdale for the last 26 has been an immensely rewarding journey," Prewitt said. "At the heart of it all has been the joy of working with our children. Their boundless curiosity, energy, and potential have been a constant source of inspiration and motivation."

It has also been a privilege to build strong connections with parents, colleagues and the broader community, she added, because the collaborative spirit has enriched the school and also helped the students succeed.

"Throughout my time at Oakdale, I've had the opportunity to give a great deal, and in return, I've learned an immeasurable amount," Prewitt said. "Every day has brought new experiences, challenges, and growth opportunities, both professionally and personally. I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me and for the collective efforts of everyone who has contributed to making Oakdale a place of learning, growth, and community."

The Tuscaloosa City Schools has benefitted profoundly from Prewitt's years of service, said Superintendent Mike Daria.

"Oakdale is what it is today, and has experienced the growth and progress that it has, because of Dr. Lucille Prewitt," Daria said. "We will forever be grateful to the dedication and love of education that she has shown to countless students and their families over the last four decades."

During retirement, Prewitt said she looks forward to relaxing, taking time for travel, giving her time to serving the community and possibly teaching future educators at the college level.

Congrats to the talented dancers of Paul W. Bryant High School Tuscaloosa Fine Arts Academy Dance Program, who performed their Spring Dance Recital this week. Every performance lit up the stage — beautifully done!

Westlawn Middle School student Orlandria Stewart recently competed in the Auburn Science and Engineering Fair (ASEF), where she won the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Award as well as 2nd Place in the Junior Division of Biomedical Engineering & Biomedical and Health Sciences!

Since winning the WMS Science Fair in November, Orlandria has placed in the top 3 of her division at The University of Alabama and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She now has the opportunity to compete in the national competition in Washington, D.C.!

Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy inducted 82 students into the National Technical Honor Society recently. They were inducted for their work in Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Welding, TV Productions, Agriscience/Vet. Science, Animation, Educators in Training, Fire Science/Emergency Services, Modern Manufacturing, Computer Science, Sports Medicine, Electrical Technology, PLTW Engineering, Building Construction and Health Science.

According to it's website, The National Technical Honor Society is an educational non-profit that exists to honor, recognize, and empower students and teachers in Career & Technical Education. As the honor society for Career & Technical Education, NTHS serves over 100,000 active members annually in both secondary and postsecondary chapters across the country.

To watch the induction, click the video below.

TCS graduations are only about three weeks away! All three high schools will have their graduation ceremonies at Coleman Coliseum on May 9, 2025. Paul W. Bryant High School will be at 3 p.m., Central High School at 5:30 p.m., and Northridge High School at 8 p.m.

Please note that ONLY CLEAR BAGS will be allowed inside the facility. For more information on graduation, including on where to park and what is allowed, click HERE.

University of Alabama All-American basketball player Mark Sears visited Verner Elementary School last week to read to students and answer their questions. He also shot a few baskets and showed some of his dribbling skills. Mark says he enjoys interacting with students and talking to them about hard work. Huge thanks to Mark Sears for spending time with our students!

On Monday, the TCS Transportation Department family came together in loving remembrance to celebrate the life and legacy of former bus driver Annie Wright—whose warm smile, kind heart, and unwavering dedication left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her. Wright, who recently retired from TCS, passed away last week.

The Tuscaloosa City Schools recently underwent a months long, re-accreditation process with COGNIA, something it does every five years as a school district. And, the results were outstanding - the system scored a total of 321, which was an increase from its score of 311 in 2020. The TCS total score was also 25 points higher than the national average score of 296.

COGNIA is a non-profit organization that accredits primary and secondary schools throughout the U.S. and internationally. Accreditation is recognized globally and signifies excellence in education based on a rigorous process.

TCS is shifting its communications to ParentSquare for the 2025-26 school year! What does that mean? Families will still communications via email, text or phone calls. However, rather than juggling between different applications like Remind, ClassDoJo, GroupMe or other apps for communcation from teachers, coaches and schools, all communication will be done in one app. Have kids at multiple schools? It will make things easier as communications from the district, school, teachers and coaches will be all found in one place.

No need for families to do anything now, but consider downloading the ParentSquare app soon! We will go live with Parentsquare for communications on July 1.

DID YOU KNOW that TCS now has a new anonymous reporting system called "Say Something" from the Sandy Hook Promise? Reporting is easy, by click here: Say Something Anonymous Reporting - Tuscaloosa City School District

People can help save lives by reporting observed threats, behaviors, actions, and harassment. Here are examples of some of the most common behaviors and incidents to report:

• Acts of violence, with or without weapons
• Verbal or physical abuse, assault or harassment
• Sexual abuse, assault or harassment
• Threats seen on social media
• Bullying, fighting, harassment or intimidating behaviors
• Bragging about weapons or a planned attack
• Depression, anxiety or loss of self-control
• Hopelessness, excessive guilt or worthlessness
• Reckless behavior, theft and petty crimes
• Social isolation or withdrawal
• Substance or alcohol abuse
• Suicide threats, cutting or other self-harm
• Any other troubling situation or behavior

Neighborhood Bridges helps gather donations of items that are needed by our TCS students and schools. These items go directly to making a positive impact. Since TCS Neighborhood Bridges was launched in 2019, there have been 866 needs filled and 43,970 students have benefitted. Check out their current donation wish list today by clicking the link below!

Tuscaloosa City | Neighborhood Bridges

BSN Sports has set up online "swag stores" for our schools where any student, faculty or parent can buy school branded gear. This was a desire that was expressed by students during the Superintendent's student advisory meetings at the high schools last school year.

The "swag" on these sites include a variety of price points, brands, and are in men's, women's and children's sizes, plus they have cups and other items as well. On the main page, they also have gear per sport.

There is also branded gear for the elementary and middle schools, too! To see the middle school and elementary options, on the desktop website, once you have clicked on the type of item to browse, you can go to the sidebar where it says "campus" and then select feeder school, where the items will pop up with other school names. Select the school that you want.

Each feeder zone will receive 10% back of all purchases in the form of a store credit/rebate that can be used for future branded purchases by the school(s). So, support your school and show school pride!

Northridge feeder zone store: NORTHRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL JAGUARS - TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports

Central feeder zone store: CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL FALCONS - TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports

Bryant feeder zone store: PAUL W BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL STAMPEDE - COTTONDALE, Alabama - Sideline Store - BSN Sports