Mark Newlin receives a $5,000 scholarship from presenter Brent Caffey

Submitted by Mrs. Kasandra Lovell

The Spiro School Foundation for Excellence in Education held their annual Academic All-Star Banquet last week on Thursday, April 23, 2026. They recognized 13 senior, 13 junior, and 23 sophomore honor students and several teachers.

2026 Wrenetta Housden Grants to Teachers

Over $20,000 in Wrenetta Housden grants were given to fifteen Spiro teachers:

Kelli Owens, Elementary – ”Little Writers Light Up Their Words”  $421.76

Christina Lovell, Pre-K – ”Light, Shadows, and Motion: Building Early STEM Thinkers in Pre-K”  $620.00

Sherry King, K-5 – ”Flexible Furniture”  $2,050.00

Amanda Conrad, 3rd – ”Small Classroom Greenhouse”  $273.81

Brandi Harper and Jessica Owens, 4th – ”Moby Max 12 month Pro License” $1,500.00

Shaylee Woodside, 7th and 8th – “STEM Learning Kits” $5,439.66

Shauna Riggs, M.S. Special Education – “Books”  $400.83

April Carter, 6th-8th – “Bright Future Counseling Curriculum” $317.27

Jordan Jones, 6th-12th – “Thermal Binding Machine” $606.97

Rashel Maynard, Pre-K-12th -”Large Video Screen at Events” $3,076.00

Amy Cumpton, 6th-12th – “Mac Mini M4 Work Station and Zoom H4Essential Recorder” $1,470.00

Sheila Morton, 9th-12th – “Hands On Life Skills Equipment” $1,145.00

Stephanie McLemore, Pre-K – 12th, “Canon EOS Mark II Mirrorless Camera and Equipment” $2,800.00

Abigail Key, 9th-12th – “New Books for Book Club” $2,689.20

Carl Albert State College President Dr. Jay Faulkner presented Scholars Program scholarships to totaling over $11,600 each as well as CASC Foundation scholarships with 12 credit hour tuition waivers per semester plus a $700 housing scholarship to the remaining nine senior Academic All Stars.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of scholarships to graduating seniors. All sophomore, junior, and senior All-Stars, along with their parents, were introduced during the evening.  Each senior All-Star was recognized and seated at a special table front and center.  Mark Newlin received the top scholarship of the evening at $5,000, while Kylea Cobb, Kirkland Fisher, Brynleigh Graham, and Aaliyah Harris received $3,500 each, and the remainder of the seniors received $2,000 and $1,500 scholarships from the Marcella P. Moore Scholarship Fund. The Foundation has awarded over $728,300 in scholarships since its inception.

Brynleigh Graham was awarded the Blankenship Athletic Scholarship of $1,500. 

Carl Albert State College President Dr. Jay Falkner presented a Scholars Program scholarship to Tatianah Bell and Kylea Cobb totaling over $12,120 per student. CASC Foundation scholarships with 12 hour tuition waivers per semester plus a $700 housing scholarship went to eleven senior Academic All-Stars.

See the photo gallery below for graphics you can click for a larger image.

Grants to teachers— Several Spiro teachers received the Wrenetta Housden Grant at the Academic All-Star banquet.  Pictured left to right are Sherry King, Christina Lovell, Kelli Owens, Amanda Conrad, Jordan Jones, Shauna Riggs, Sheila Morton, Stephanie McLemore, Rashel Maynard, and Shaylee Woodside.

Senior Academic All-Stars—  Over $33,000 from the Marcella P. Moore scholarship fund was awarded to senior Academic All-Stars totaling $728,300 over the past 30 years. Katie Perdue, Madison Caldwell, Aaliyah Harris, Ava McLemore, Ashton Brown, Tatianah Bell, Brynleigh Graham, Kylea Cobb, Laylah Steele, Spencer Gist, Kirkland Fisher, Mark Newlin, and Tristan Martin were recipients of these scholarships.

Junior Academic All-Stars—  Jackson Spears, Allie Ford, Saylor Conrad, Brooklynn Allen, Kamdyn McClure, and Rylee Darneal

Sophomore Academic  All-Stars—  (Back row) Izabella Zaragoza, Addyson Dollar, Olivia Abdullah, Carlee Trusty, Shane Yoast, Taylor Covey, Sarah England, and Jason  McMillan (Front row) Rileigh Harbour,  Mireya Lopez, Brylyn Saulsberry, Robyn Gregory, Shantel Jordan, Jaxi Jones, Natalie Hale, and Brayden Baughman

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