Thursday, May 15, 2008
EDUCATION
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Despite protests, two groups were picked Wednesday to run four public schools in Baton Rouge that were taken over by the state because of chronic problems.
Southern University named three finalists to compete to become the next chancellor. The top three are, in alphabetical order, Ray Belton, Southern University at Shreveport chancellor; Kofi Lomotey, Fisk University executive vice president and provost in Tennessee; and Napoleon Moses, Alcorn State University vice president for academic affairs in Mississippi. Teach For America, the national organization that recruits recent college graduates to teach in underserved public schools, will place 50 new teachers in south Louisiana this fall. The East Baton Rouge Parish school system announced the 2008-2009 Teachers of the Year on Tuesday, honoring a special-needs pre-school teacher, a 33-year teaching veteran and a high school Spanish teacher. The winners were announced at a banquet sponsored by the nonprofit group Volunteers In Public Schools and Neighbors Federal Credit Union. OPELOUSAS — A proposed school reorganization plan to help resolve desegregation issues in St. Landry Parish is scheduled to be made public today at a special School Board meeting. LIVINGSTON — Livingston Parish public schools continue to struggle to break through a plateau in scores at the upper-middle and high-school levels on state standardized tests. State educators approved two new ways Tuesday for public school eighth-graders to get around a test required for promotion. A third exception failed on a 5-5 vote. It may be debated again Thursday during a meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. LIVINGSTON — The three candidates vying to be the next superintendent of Livingston Parish public schools agreed Tuesday they would communicate and work with School Board members, staff and the public if appointed to the job. Public-school eighth-graders would be given new ways to get around a key state test required for promotion under a plan recommended to the state’s top school board. Tara High School students, teachers and parents protested Monday night an April 21 East Baton Rouge Parish School Board vote to alter school attendance zones, which would send between 44 and 56 Tara students to Woodlawn High. The Southeastern Louisiana University and University of Louisiana at Monroe presidents are among the top six applicants to become the head of the state’s largest university system, an advisory panel decided Monday. Want a biscuit cutter starting at $40? How about some vintage rolling pins now at $25? Or maybe a large food chopper for $300? Until recently, you would have heard about such sales for obsolete school food service equipment only at a government auction. But increasingly, these auctions are migrating to the Internet. The recent announcement that Advance Baton Rouge and LSU plan to open two new, small “autonomous” high schools by fall 2009 took top leaders of East Baton Rouge Parish’s school system by surprise and further stressed the already tense relations between the school system and Advance Baton Rouge. PINEVILLE — Gov. Bobby Jindal urged graduates at two universities to dream big and travel the world — but come back to Louisiana. School lunch menus for East Baton Rouge Parish public schools and Catholic schools for May 12-16: Public school fifth-graders in Louisiana fared best compared to their peers nationally and sixth-graders worst in a test of math, English and other skills, state educators said Friday. GREENSBURG — St. Helena Parish public school students lost ground or achieved only minimum gains in the state’s most recent LEAP and the iLEAP tests, officials said. The youngest students taking Louisiana's standardized tests did worse in three out of four subjects than they did last year, and only fifth- and ninth-graders did better in every subject, results released Friday showed. State education officials have chosen three consultants to recommend changes at the Louisiana School for the Deaf following the arrests of five people over a five-month period on sex-related charges. LAFAYETTE — The leader of the N.P. Moss Middle School parents’ group said Thursday that she and her fellow parents are comfortable with the way the school system is handling repairs and reoccupation of the school. Fifty-seven percent of fourth-graders in a magnet school program at Hammond Eastside Upper School scored at top levels in the 2008 LEAP English section, the school’s principal said. LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish School Board will interview candidates competing to become the school system’s next superintendent starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday. DARROW — Faced with an impending deadline to start construction, school officials are investigating a different location for a primary school in southern Ascension Parish. The private company providing custodial services for Baton Rouge public schools is having its day managers work more night shifts to head off complaints about poor quality upkeep in some schools. LAFAYETTE — Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Burnell Lemoine on Wednesday announced that N.P. Moss Middle School will partially reopen in the fall. BAKER — The Baker School Board agreed Tuesday to contract with a California firm to assist teachers in preparing for next year’s state accountability tests. NEW IBERIA — The Iberia Parish School Board spent its time celebrating both academic and athletic achievements during its regular Wednesday night meeting. Fourth- and eighth-graders did slightly better this year on a state test required for promotion but major challenges remain, educators said Tuesday. The test, which is called LEAP, is designed to make sure public school students master basic skills in math and English before they move to the next grade. Just completing its first year of independence, the new Central Community school system appears to be taking its academic place among the higher-performing school districts in Louisiana. LAFAYETTE — The newly named leader of the group working on recommendations for future construction and maintenance of Lafayette Parish public schools has already established a reputation with the school system central office staff. A panel created to find Superintendent Charlotte Placide’s replacement before she leaves in July 2009 is recommending that school leaders hear proposals from search firms next month to see if that’s the way the school system wants to go. Fourth- and eighth-graders in Louisiana public schools showed "marked improvement" this spring in scores on standardized tests that are required for promotion to the next grade, state education officials said Tuesday. CENTRAL — Voters will decide July 19 whether they should pay higher sales and property taxes to build a near-$100 million educational complex to handle an expected wave of new students. DENHAM SPRINGS — Two top Livingston Parish public school administrators and a Dillard University program director have applied to be the next superintendent of Livingston Parish schools, records show. A noted educator who specializes in the education of black students told an Istrouma High School audience that too often teachers in Baton Rouge don’t really teach at all, and black children, especially males, suffer. Johnny Mann remembers as a young child being bored in school and not being a very good student. But he has seen the antidote and wants every school to have it: interactive whiteboards. When Marcus Smallwood arrived at Prescott Middle School in August to teach sixth-grade math, 94 percent of his students were performing below grade level. The bulk of his more than 30 students came from one elementary school; they spent fifth grade taught by a succession of substitute teachers. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education supported “compromises” on Friday to water down legislation that critics contend could allow for teaching creationism in schools. Although state leaders won’t decide until May 15 who will operate four public schools in Baton Rouge and one in Morganza, one of the groups seeking the keys to three of those schools is not waiting until then to recruit teachers and principals. For author and education advocate John Corcoran, the key to literacy is simple: Those who can read and write must teach those who can’t — no matter their age. About 50 parents and teachers from Tara High went to the school’s auditorium Thursday night to discuss how they’re going to persuade the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to rescind planned changes to Tara’s attendance zone. After just two years, two former high school teachers are on the verge of more than doubling the small staff of their young nonprofit, a change that also would have them counseling about 2,000 high school seniors -– almost every senior in East Baton Rouge Parish. LAFAYETTE — No one is talking bids, contracts or real dollars yet, but officials with the Lafayette Parish school system have begun to speak with increasing interest about using pre-fabricated concrete buildings to cut dependence on the growing number of portable buildings on school campuses. ZACHARY — School officials gave the public a report Thursday on the Zachary Community School Board’s use of bond issue money for construction projects. Attorneys for the Central and East Baton Rouge Parish school systems met at a Louisiana appellate court Wednesday to argue two lawsuits involving millions in disputed taxes. OPELOUSAS — A proposed school reorganization plan for St. Landry Parish will not be made public today because the U.S. Justice Department delivered incomplete documents outlining the plan. Dozens of parents of gifted-and-talented children in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system urged the School Board on Tuesday to not do harm to the programs where their children go to schools, but rather to recruit more students to bolster them. Superintendent Charlotte Placide is proposing to expand the gifted program at Parkview Elementary School this fall, but is suggesting no changes when it comes to magnet programs. Five semifinalists vying to become Southern University’s next chancellor toured the campus Monday and gave presentations at each of the academic colleges. LAFAYETTE — Incoming University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Joseph Savoie has tapped a group of faculty, students and community members to guide his transition into office. Matthew Adler of Baton Rouge, an eighth-grader at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School, is one of three Louisiana students of the year for 2008 chosen Wednesday. The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted Thursday to tear down the avant-garde sculpture built more than 21 years ago in front of Westdale Middle School. Bob Stockwell, the No. 2 person in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, announced Thursday he is resigning after serving three years as the school system’s chief academic officer. East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Superintendent Charlotte Placide today released a series of proposed school attendance zone changes to go into effect when the 2008-09 school year starts in August. LAFAYETTE — A new parking garage will open at 6 a.m. Monday at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, providing 400 more spots for 18,500 students and faculty members. Monday will be LSU Health Day at the State Capitol. The event will feature demonstrations on advanced life-support techniques using a human simulator as well as the how-tos of breast self-examination and proper hand-washing. A state test that fourth- and eighth-graders have to pass for promotion will be given later in the school year starting in 2009, state officials said Friday. The exam, which is called LEAP, is usually given during the second or third week of March. Superintendent Charlotte Placide on Friday recommended redrawing attendance zones at 13 East Baton Rouge Parish public schools this fall in order to align feeder patterns and create shorter bus rides. PORT ALLEN — The West Baton Parish School Board tightened its policy on who is eligible to attend the district’s schools. In an unanimous move, the board amended its policy to mandate that students must live within the parish and the zone for his or her respective school. The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board could decide today once and for all to tear down a controversial avant-garde sculpture built more than 21 years ago in front of Westdale Middle School. In its place, the Baton Rouge Fire Department would build a fire station. GONZALES — The Ascension Parish School Board on Tuesday night named Terri Tate principal of Oak Grove Primary School. Tate, who has served the district 18 years, previously worked four years as an assistant principal at Duplessis Primary. Yes We Can! Baton Rouge, a grass-roots movement to improve education in the parish, has scheduled a public meeting from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday at Baton Rouge Community College’s Magnolia Performing Arts Pavilion, 5310 Florida Blvd., a news release says. Three mothers of disabled students pleaded with top state educators Tuesday for new public high school diploma options that are more meaningful to graduates and parents alike. LSU is losing medical residents because the now-closed charity hospital in New Orleans was the magnet that attracted them, a state official told lawmakers Tuesday. LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Parish School Board approved a $1,000-a-year pay raise Wednesday for parish public schoolteachers, along with an $822 one-time payment to be issued in May. With the 2005 hurricanes another year in the past and a new governor in office, Louisiana residents are more confident the state is heading in the right direction, an annual LSU survey found. New job performance standards for Louisiana’s public education chief should be ready for action by the state’s top school board on May 1 or May 2, officials said Wednesday. LSU’s Faculty Senate unanimously voted to support proposed tuition and fee increases on Wednesday. Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope said ideally the state would pay out of its annual budget, the $18.7 million LSU wants for pay raises and facilities improvements. In a first for local schools, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will soon place in its high school athletic departments a dozen automated external defibrillators donated by area medical groups. A bill that backers touted as a way to spark freewheeling public school classroom discussions on evolution has lost much of its punch, the leader of the group that first promoted the measure said. Many LSU law students praise their education but bemoan their lack of real-world law experience while in school. NEW ROADS — The Pointe Coupee School District may not know the future of Pointe Coupee Central High School until May 15, the School Board learned Thursday night. LSU and Southern University are both proposing sizable law school tuition increases to be phased in during the next three years. A push to provide the first state aid for public-school construction and repairs cleared its initial hurdle Thursday. The Senate Education Committee voted 5-1 for a bill that would set up a new office to oversee the effort. Changing the TOPS college scholarship program would be like changing the recipe for Coca-Cola, a lobbyist told lawmakers Thursday. It is best not to tinker with a classic, said Robert Baumann, the lobbyist. LAFAYETTE — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette College of Sciences will be renamed the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences in honor of the university president who is retiring after more than three decades at the helm. Louisiana’s bid to overhaul its public high schools has to take into account that students are “wired differently” than previous generations, the former head of public schools in Florida said Friday. LAFAYETTE — The citizens’ group attempting to map out a course for funding and repairing the Lafayette Parish school system’s aging buildings and equipment is set to pull together some of its findings at a Monday meeting. School lunch menus for East Baton Rouge Parish public and Catholic schools for the week of April 28 to May 2: LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Parish community group organized to recommend a course for the future of school construction and maintenance is aiming for a midsummer report to the School Board. A joint education project between the LSU College of Education and Advance Baton Rouge is the beneficiary of a $500,000 gift provided by BP America oil and gas company. The Baton Rouge Area Chamber is supporting increasing state funding, student fees and tuition at LSU to transform the university into the true flagship, top-notch research institution the group said it should become. The Texas Tech University president and the University of Florida provost are the only two LSU chancellor applicants to make the cut thus far. The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted unanimously Monday to shift attendance zones at 18 schools this fall to align feeder patterns and create shorter bus rides. State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek and Noel Hammatt, president of the Louisiana School Board Association, traded charges Tuesday over a bill that was killed last week. Southern University will begin bringing its six chancellor finalists back to campus on Monday for a second round of interviews. Southern’s chancellor search committee interviewed 16 of the top applicants two weeks ago and narrowed the list behind closed doors Monday, before announcing the group on Tuesday. College students statewide could soon pay up to 5 percent more in tuition because of legislation that took its first step Tuesday. The proposal, which would increase tuition 3-5 percent at all public two- and four-year colleges, was met with unanimous approval by the House Education Committee. VILLE PLATTE — Superintendent Toni Hamlin gave the Evangeline Parish School Board a corrected version of the costs of last fall’s bond issue election Wednesday. AMITE — The Tangipahoa Parish School Board has hired state-mandated third-party providers to upgrade its alternative schools that have run afoul of Louisiana accountability standards, a school spokeswoman said. A special panel Wednesday recommended modest changes to the East Baton Rouge Parish school system student disciplinary rules, including setting a higher bar for principals punishing children who are disobedient, tardy or who violate the dress code. LSU has a top candidate to become the next dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business. If hired, Eli Jones would be the first minority dean of the business college, said Brooks Keel, the vice chancellor who chaired the dean search committee. |
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