Update 01/27/14: Leslie Jacobs, former BESE/OPSB member and founder of EducateNow!, says claims that the teachers’ lawsuit could bankrupt the Orleans Parish School Board are unfounded: “School boards are ‘political subdivisions’ of the state, and both the Louisiana Constitution and the Governmental Claims Act protect political subdivisions from having their property or assets seized in execution […] More
Part IV: Strategic Planning: The final installment of a four-part series exploring the reform of the Jefferson Parish Public School System JPPSS Superintendent James Meza turned to Mass Insight Education (MIE) for help in developing a plan that would help achieve his vision of a leaner, more decentralized school system focused on supporting schools. MIE’s collaboration with JPPSS […] More
Part III: Determined Leadership: The third installment in a four-part series exploring the reform of the Jefferson Parish Public School System In an exchange over his proposed reorganization plan at a board meeting last April, Dr. James Meza said what, in effect, has been his mantra since assuming the district’s top post: “We’ve got to be […] More
Part II: Community Investment: The second installment a four-part series exploring the reform of the Jefferson Parish Public School System Although enrollment numbers had ominously fallen over the previous two decades, the introduction of statewide testing in Louisiana in 1999 brought the full extent of Jefferson’s problems into focus. And over the next several years, lagging test […] More
Part I: Introduction to JPPSS: The first installment in a four-part series exploring the reform of the Jefferson Parish Public School System Louisiana has garnered national recognition in recent years for “putting students first in its education policies,” and for its leadership in education reform. While much of this attention has focused on the transformation of […] More
With the final adjournment of the eight-week political marathon that was the 2013 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature yesterday, it’s time to step back and assess the session’s impact our state’s education policies. First, the good news… Thankfully, the most regressive education-related bills filed by lawmakers either failed or were rendered harmless through amendment. […] More
On Monday, District Court Judge Michael Caldwell declared Act 1 unconstitutional in its entirety, reversing his previous decision in December that upheld three out of four sections of the law. His ruling came as the result of a lawsuit filed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), who argued that Act 1 violated Article III, […] More
Peter Cook