St. Tammany Parish’s Carra "Beth" Melton selected to lead statewide initiative focused on enhancing math fluency
(BATON ROUGE, LA) - The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) announced Carra “Beth” Melton of Bayou Woods Elementary in St. Tammany Parish as the 2025 Louisiana Public Interest Fellow.
The Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship provides an accomplished educator with the support and resources to lead a high-impact initiative that benefits students and schools across the state. Melton’s fellowship project will focus on enhancing math fluency, aligning with Louisiana’s statewide education priority emphasizing math instruction from foundational to advanced skills.
“The Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship gives some of the top educators in the state the support they need to take their big idea and make an impact that can resonate beyond their parish,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley.
Melton teaches math, science, and social studies to third-grade students in St. Tammany Parish Public Schools. Her fellowship project focuses on enhancing math fluency and improving students' ability to solve word problems. By emphasizing the development of both numerical skills and the cognitive processes involved in interpreting and solving word problems, this initiative seeks to equip students with the tools they need to succeed in mathematics and beyond. Importantly, this initiative recognizes the crucial role of parents in their child’s math development and aims to support and involve them through the creation of math resources and distribution of math kits.
As the 2025 Louisiana Public Interest Fellow, Melton will be recognized at the 19th Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Awards Gala, co-sponsored by Dream Teachers.
About the Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship
The Louisiana Public Interest Fellowship is a partnership between the Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Each year, the fellowship supports an outstanding educator in leading a statewide initiative aligned with Louisiana’s education priorities. Past projects have focused on areas such as literacy, career readiness, educator recruitment, and student engagement. Since its launch in 2018, the fellowship has helped educators take their ideas beyond the classroom and make a lasting difference for Louisiana students.
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