When Carley Riley begins her freshman year at Airline High School in the fall, she will bring with her the title of National Champion after winning the Creative Lecture competition at the 2025 Educators Rising National Conference held the last week of June in Orlando, Florida.
As a Cope eighth grader and student in the Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning (BPSTIL) Pre-Educator Program, Riley earned the right to compete on the national stage by taking first place at the Louisiana Educators Rising State Conference, where she stood out amongst more than a thousand middle and high students from across the state. Her powerful and original presentation at the state level secured her a spot in the highly competitive national event.
At the national Educators Rising competition, a national organization committed to growing the next generation of educators, Riley wowed judges and ascended to the top among more than 35-hundred students nationwide. Her performance in the Creative Lecture category, which challenges students to deliver an original, thought-provoking talk on a relevant education topic, earned her top honors and the title of National Champion at the middle school level. Riley’s topic centered around artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom.
Her win marks the second consecutive national title for Bossier Schools and shines a spotlight on the incredible Pre-Educator program at BPSTIL and the future leaders in education it is developing.
“We are incredibly proud of Carley and the dedication, intellect, and creativity she brought to this competition,” said Regina Digilormo, the Pre-Educator Instructor at BPSTIL. “She presents with a distinct maturity. We are excited to have four more years of Carley in our program, as she will be entering Airline High School this fall.”