State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice will be the keynote speaker for a Blue Ribbon celebration at Crestline Elementary School Tues., Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.

Dr. Tommy Bice

The event is scheduled to be held outdoors in the bus lane area on the south side of the school, weathering permitting, In the event of inclement weather, it will be moved to the school gym.

Bice’s audience will consist of more than 600 students and faculty members in addition to parents and other guests. He will be introduced by Hartselle School Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed.

Students will also be spotlighted during the program. They will wear Blue Ribbon T-shirts and carry blue shakers, sing songs, and make short speeches.

Crestline Elementary School was named a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School earlier this year by Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. Both Barkley Bridge Elementary and F.E. Burleson Elementary schools have also achieved Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School status.

To carry out the blue theme, an Elvis Presley impersonator will sing “Blue Suede Shoes.”

The event will climax with the cutting of a huge cake, with each student receiving a piece.

A committee was appointed to make plans for the celebration with third grade teacher Nona Livingston serving as chairwoman.

Information on Dr. Bice

Bice was appointed Alabama’s State Superintendent of Education on Nov. 10, 2011, and assumed the position on Jan. 1, 2012.

Prior to his appointment, Bice was Alabama’s Deputy State Superintendent of Education for Instructional Services, Superintendent of the Alexander City School System, high school principal, career tech director, alternative school teacher/director, special education/residential school director and early childhood teacher/parent trainer. He began his career as a teacher at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

Bice also serves as an adjunct professor of Educational Leadership at Auburn University.