Three low-performing Lafayette Parish schools have expressed interest in hiring a designated academic/behavior coordinator, a new position approved by the Lafayette Parish School Board to assist underperforming, high-poverty schools in raising the bar for parents and students.
The Advocate reports that the new position will be paid for with federal Title I money, which makes any Title I (high-poverty) school in the parish eligible to add the job to its payroll.
JW Faulk Elementary and Alice Boucher Elementary schools, both of which barely surpassed the minimum school performance score needed to stay off the state’s failing school list, are exploring adding the position to their schools. Charter High School, which received an academically unacceptable score from the state when it released preliminary data recently, also would like to pursue the academic coordinator position.
According to The Advocate, the school district plans to challenge the SPS given to Charter by the state.
Speaking of new faces in Lafayette Parish Schools, as of Tuesday, four applicants are vying to replace Superintendent of Schools Burnell Lemoine when he retires in December, The Advocate reports:
-Wayne Alexander, of Old Lyme, Conn., who holds a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He is a director and special education teacher for Hartford public schools. From 2007 to 2009, Alexander was the superintendent of Hernando County in Brooksville, Fla., with a student population of 23,000.
-Luis Gonzales, of Harrisburg, Pa., who holds a doctorate in administration from the University of Texas. Since 2009, Gonzales has been the superintendent and chief executive officer of Central Dauphin school district in Harrisburg.
-Arthur D. Gottlieb, of Queensbury, N.Y., holds a master’s degree in school district administration and a certificate from the New York State School Superintendent Development Program. He is an adjunct professor of biology at the College of St. Joseph in Rutland, Vt., and an adjunct professor of education at SUNY-Plattsburgh, Queensbury campus.
-Karl Reichman, of Jackson, holds a professional diploma in administration and supervision from Long Island University. He is president and owner of SAGE Educational Consulting. From 2006 to 2010, Reichman served as the “superintendent/director” of Lake County International Charter School in Middletown, Calif.
The window for submitting an application ends Sept. 12.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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All the best,
Soop