Baker schools OK contract with nonprofit

• By CHUCK HUSTMYRE
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Jun 17, 2009 - Page: 5B

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BAKER — The School Board approved a contract with a private company Tuesday to provide Baker schools with several “highly qualified” teachers.

Teach for America is a nationwide nonprofit company based in New York City that specializes in recruiting top teachers to work in low-income communities, said Michael Tifton, the company’s executive director for Louisiana.

The contract the board approved Tuesday calls for the company to provide from five to 15 teachers to work in Baker for a minimum of two years. All of the teachers must meet the guidelines for “highly qualified” as set forth under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Under the terms of the contract, the School Board will pay the company a total of $7,200 per teacher for recruiting services and for providing additional training to the teachers assigned to Baker.

Rodney Coats, the Baker school system’s human resources director, said the agreement with the company would ensure that “99.9 percent” of Baker’s teachers meet the federal standard.

The board also approved a list of personnel actions that included the firing of two Baker High School teachers, Doris Maldonado and Ricardo Malbrew. School officials would not comment on the dismissals.

The board spent about an hour in executive session, out of view of the public, evaluating the performance of first-year Superintendent Estes Taplin.

Following the private session, Board President Pam Malveaux said the board members are “very well satisfied” with Taplin’s performance.

“He not only met our expectations,” she said, “he has exceeded our expectations in several areas.”

In other action, the board approved:

• A new property insurance policy with Continental Casualty Co.
• An agreement with the East Baton Rouge Parish Head Start program to provide services to children ages 3 to 5.
• Seeking public bids for repair work at Baker High and Park Ridge Elementary schools.