Drake Leonard, Harleigh Price and Gifford Courtney are the St. Mary Parish students of the year.

The Students of the Year Award Program is designed to recognize outstanding high school, junior high and elementary school students.

Leonard is a senior at Morgan City High School, Price is an eighth-grade student at Morgan City Junior High School and Courtney attends fifth grade at M.E. Norman Elementary in Morgan City.

The program is an opportunity to recognize students from each parish who have demonstrated excellent academic achievement, leadership ability and citizenship. The program is sponsored by the Louisiana State Superintendent through the State Department of Education and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Parish winners will participate in the regional competition Feb. 28 in St. Bernard Parish.

Other participants in the St. Mary Students of the Year competition included:

—Fifth grade: Brysa Montes, Aucoin Elementary; Sadie Grow, Bayou Vista Elementary; Lauren Cantrelle, Berwick Elementary; Katelyn Larson, Centerville Elementary; Colby Alexander, Foster Elementary; Abdiel Macias, Hernandez Elementary; Ash Lee Miller Jr., LaGrange Elementary; Joshua Jones, Maitland Elementary; Ray Johnson, Raintree Elementary; and Selena Williams, Shannon Elementary.

—Eighth grade: Summer Clavelle, B. Edward Boudreaux Middle; Gabrielle Adams, Berwick Junior High; Ashton Claire Landry, Centerville Junior High School; Aisha Ortiz, Franklin Junior High; and Hailey Claire Aucoin, Patterson Junior High.

—Twelfth grade: Anne Lee Parsiola, Berwick High; Katelyn Sonnier, Patterson High; and Launa Metz, West St. Mary High School.