Louisiana Department of Education

in Louisiana

One Small Step For BESE, One Giant Leap For Teacher Prep Louisiana Transforms How It Trains Its Teachers

by Peter Cook 14 October 2016, 14:39

At a time when other states are backing away from education policies that shake-up the status quo, Louisiana is charging forward with reforms aimed at raising student achievement. On Wednesday, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved a plan that will dramatically transform teacher preparation in Louisiana. Beginning in 2018, students entering […] More

in Louisiana

Stay In Your Lane, Governor Governor Edwards' ESSA Advisory Council Is An Unnecessary Distraction

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by Peter Cook 30 August 2016, 20:32

Over the past several weeks, Governor John Bel Edwards has made a flurry of appointments to various boards and commissions, including his Advisory Council on the Every Student Succeeds Act, a new committee the Governor established through an executive order in late May. The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA), of course, is the latest iteration of the Elementary and […] More

in NOLA

Quick Take: What Did Teachers Gain In Morris Jeff’s Contract? The Answer: Not A Whole Lot

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by Peter Cook 22 June 2016, 19:16

On Tuesday, teachers at Morris Jeff Community School approved a contract between the board and the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO). Union members and representatives of the school’s board of directors had been negotiating the contract for over a year. On Monday, board members unanimously backed the agreement. What did teachers at Morris Jeff […] More

in LaLege

Governor Unveils K-12 Legislative Agenda Edwards Wants To Chip Away At Accountability and School Choice

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by Peter Cook 18 March 2016, 03:16

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

in Charters

The Problem With Independent Authorizers Keeping a Tight Rein on Charter Authorizing Is Essential For Success

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by Peter Cook 8 January 2016, 15:07

Although I like Jennifer “Edushyster” Berkshire personally, it’s safe to say that when it comes to education policy, we agree to disagree on most points. However, I think I finally found an education issue on which we are more-or-less aligned: independent charter school authorizers. On Tuesday, Salon published an interview Berkshire conducted with the authors […] More

in NOLA

Which New Orleans Schools Made The Grade In 2015? LDOE Releases Letter Grades & SPS Scores

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by Peter Cook 17 December 2015, 17:33

Just in time for Christmas, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released 2015 school letter grades and School Performance Scores (SPS) earlier today. Schools were assigned grades on a curve again this year, based on a temporary policy adopted to ease the transition to the higher demands of the Common Core standards. LDOE calculates elementary […] More

in NOLA

Quick Take: Kathy Riedlinger’s Pre-Emptive Strike Lusher Officials Exaggerate Impact of Changes to Funding Formula

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by Peter Cook 10 December 2015, 15:57

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

in Louisiana

The Naked Ambition of Hollis Milton West Feliciana's Superintendent Takes Aim at Accountability & John White

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by Peter Cook 28 September 2015, 14:00

There’s a difference, of course, between ambition and naked ambition. The former is a quality we admire in an individual who is willing to push themselves to the heights that their talents can take them. The latter is much less flattering; it denotes a gracelessness in pursuit of those ends, a willingness to jettison principles […] More

in Louisiana

Quick Take: No, Poverty Isn’t Destiny…Or An Excuse John Bel Edwards argues "poverty trumps education." He's wrong.

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by Peter Cook 17 September 2015, 14:52

When the Democratic candidate for Governor, John Bel Edwards, met with the Editorial Board of Lafayette’s Daily Advertiser on Tuesday to explain how “things would be different in an Edwards administration,” the two-term State Representative had a lot to say about the state of public education in Louisiana. Some of the points he made were […] More

in Louisiana

Education Reform in Louisiana is Working So Why Are Some Politicians Denying It?

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by Peter Cook 15 September 2015, 15:04

With all of the attention given to New Orleans this summer around the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, you may have missed the good news that’s come out about the performance of students from across Louisiana. The positive results released over the past several months show that the policies advocated by Superintendent John White and […] More

in Media

Inaccuracies, Misrepresentations & Glaring Omissions of Fact Setting The Record Straight On Andrea Gabor's Latest Attack

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by Peter Cook 23 August 2015, 17:03

Well, Andrea Gabor is at it again. A few years ago, Andrea Gabor wrote an article for Newsweek that maligned the transformation of New Orleans’ public schools since Hurricane Katrina. At the time, I wrote a response that exposed the “inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and glaring omissions of fact” in her Newsweek piece – issues that made […] More

in NOLA

The Backstory on Going Backwards Learn More About The Troubles in NOPS Before Katrina

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by Peter Cook 22 August 2015, 14:26

Google Earth Tour of Locations in Going Backwards John McDonogh: Shooting Cop Criticizes Dead Teen – Mary Foster, Associated Press: April 14, 2003. 1 Slain, 4 Hurt At N.O. School – Brian Thevenot, Times-Picayune: April 15, 2003. One Killed and 3 Are Wounded at New Orleans School – Rick Bragg, New York Times: April 15, […] More

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