Tagged: education

Federal funds dedicated to the turnaround of struggling Louisiana public schools have been repurposed.

The state Department of Education is using $5 million to issue grants to conceive new schools and allow high-performing schools to take on more students.

Almost 200,000 students are attending schools rated D or F. State Supt. John White said traditional public school systems that have been getting turnaround money are not drawing down that number.

“The pace of change has just not been fast enough for us not to consider a new path,” White said.  

Jim chats with education historian and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch talks about education reforms in Louisiana and recent court rulings against their constitutionality.

Actress, dancer, choreographer, producer & director Debbie Allen visits to talk about her annual  Debbie Allen Dance Academy performance here in Baton Rouge; a tribute to former Arts Council of GBR director Derek Gordon, who passed away last year.

Baton Rouge Ballet Artistic Director Molly Buchmann talks about the annual Spring Concert and other upcoming events.

Louisiana has a dismal track record in the number of college-bound students who fill out the free application for federal student aid or FAFSA. A Louisiana nonprofit aims to change that. Employees of the Louisiana Education Loan Authority or LELA have done dozens of FAFSA workshops at high schools across the state in recent weeks. LELA's assistant vice president of marketing, Joni Leggio, said the FAFSA priority deadline at many colleges is April 1, and now is the right time to complete the form.

A state judge has thrown out rules passed last session tying teacher tenure and pay to classroom performance. Monday's decision is a turnaround from the same judge’s previous ruling.

In December, Judge Michael Caldwell threw out parts of what’s been called the “Teacher Tenure Act,” – parts that didn’t directly address teacher tenure, but made rules for school boards, visiting teachers, superintendents and principals.

That day, the governor touted the ruling as a success because it kept his tenure overhauls. Now the judge is saying the whole thing has to go.