When citizens in Washington State headed to the polls in November 2014, one of the decisions facing them was whether to approve Initiative 1351, a proposition aimed at reducing class sizes by requiring the state legislature to pay for an additional 25,000 public school employees by 2019. For months, an organization called Class Size Counts […] More
Louisiana’s House Education Committee will convene Wednesday morning to consider a number of important proposals, including House Bill 390 from State Rep. Gary Carter (D-New Orleans), which would ensure that TOPS college scholarship awards are equitably distributed in the event of future funding shortfalls. The program that eventually became TOPS was originally launched in 1989 […] More
For almost 20 years, Louisiana high school students who graduated with a 2.5 G.P.A. and a score of 20 on the ACT exam were eligible for a TOPS scholarship that would cover the cost of tuition at a state college or university. Not only did the TOPS program reward students’ academic achievement, but it allowed […] More
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I would venture to guess that most people are familiar with this aphorism, which is usually (although inaccurately) attributed to Albert Einstein. I say “most people” because the behavior of Governor John Bel Edwards suggests that he hasn’t […] More
Note: This is the second installment of a two-part series. You can read Part I here. When Kyle Serrette learned back in February that Louisiana was on the verge of winning an $8 million charter school grant from U.S. Department of Education, he wasn’t happy about the news. After all, he had spent the previous […] More
Over the past year, a small group of education leaders from across Louisiana has been secretly plotting to curtail charter school expansion, weaken the state’s accountability policies, and rewrite the law passed earlier this year to return New Orleans schools to local control. The group, which calls itself the Louisiana Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools […] More
Given the myriad challenges facing Louisiana these days, it’s clear we need a bold, forward-looking leader fighting for us in the United States Senate. Apparently, LFT believes that no one embodies bold, forward-looking leadership like a 69 year-old white man who has held elected office longer than I’ve been alive. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: […] More
It has long been clear that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT) does not work in the best interests of students. After all, LFT has been on the wrong (and losing) side of several debates over past several years. They joined with Tea Party-aligned lawmakers in an attempt to repeal Common Core. They have supported […] More
With the 2016 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature now in full swing, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the campaign finance records of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT) and Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) to see where their donations have been going. Below, I’ve assembled all campaign donations […] More
It’s safe to say that when it comes to K-12 education policy, Governor John Bel Edwards and I often disagree. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly support several of the Governor’s other policy objectives, particularly those which seek to improve the welfare of low-income families, such as his efforts to increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit and […] More
Ever since John Bel Edwards’ upset victory in the gubernatorial race last fall, education reform supporters have worried that the Governor would try to roll back many of the policies that have helped raise student achievement across the state. After all, during his tenure in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Edwards opposed Common Core and […] More
Dear Lusher Parents: No, the sky is not falling. Contrary to what you might have read on Saturday in the Uptown Messenger, Lusher is not about to be pushed off the edge of a $1.2 million fiscal cliff. Lawmakers in Baton Rouge have not conspired to punish New Orleans with a law all its own. […] More