Louisiana Department of Education honors its outstanding educators

BATON ROUGE— The Louisiana Department of Education honored its outstanding educators and its 19th annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Awards Gala on Saturday night in New Orleans.Three of the honorees serve children at school districts in the Capital Region. Olivia Francois is heading into her second year teaching at Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish, where she's preparing to teach U.S. History. Francois was named the Louisiana New Teacher of the Year. &nbs