Today, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a consortium of 26 states, including Louisiana, a $170 million grant to fund the development of new common assessments. The group of 26 states, the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), will collectively develop new common assessments. According to the USDOE announcement, a majority of the $350 million grant – set aside as a separate component of the Race to the Top package – will actually be awarded to two groups for the purpose of creating common assessments aligned to the recently published Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. Read More ...

Late Friday, almost five years to the date after Hurricane Katrina dealt billions of dollars in damages to the infrastructure of New Orleans, the Federal Emergency Management Association officially announced a settlement agreement of more than $1.84 billion to cover storm-related damages to school buildings in the city. Read More ...

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ... WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LOUISIANA’S EDUCATION REFORM PLAN Read More ...

Today, when the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) announced the state winners that will share the remaining $3.4 billion of the federal Race to the Top (R2T) grant, Louisiana was not on the list.  Read More ...

More Louisiana students have the core knowledge to succeed in college, according to the latest report issued by ACT today. Read More ...

On Tuesday evening, August 17, 2010 at 6:00pm, Kevin O’Keefe was released from Providence Alaska Medical Center. Read More ...

Today, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) posted district and state reports for 4th, 8th, 10th and 11th grade students who participated in summer testing.  Read More ...

Fortunately, the recovery and health of Sean, Kevin and their fellow survivors continues to be very positive. However, the O’Keefe family is grieving as the loss of Sean’s colleagues and friends takes hold. The O’Keefe family continues to request prayers and support for the families of Senator Stevens and the four other individuals who lost their lives in this tragic accident.  Read More ...

With the exception of those enrolled in Gifted and Talented programs, 86,000, or 12 percent, of Louisiana’s student population receives special education services. And based on the most recent report issued by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), the quality of these services is improving.  Read More ...

Today the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) awarded a Louisiana consortium of education providers $30 million in a highly competitive grant program that aims to support and expand high-quality charter schools. The grant was awarded as part of the Investing in Innovation program, commonly referred to as i3, which is designed to support the nation’s boldest reform plans. Read More ...

The Louisiana Department of Education is, of course, concerned with the well being of all students and recognizes our responsibility to ensure every child receives a free and appropriate education. While we have no way of verifying these specific incidents as of yet, it’s unacceptable that any child or family would have to endure the kind of hardships that were described by the Southern Poverty Law Center in this complaint. At the same time, we are disappointed that this organization did not make us aware of these reports and concerns until today, several hours after a press conference was held outlining this complaint. If we had been notified, we would have worked with this organization, these students and their families to resolve any deficiencies so that their physical, emotional and educational needs are met by their local districts and schools. Read More ...

Today the U. S. Department of Education (USDOE) announced finalists for the second round of the federal Race to the Top (R2T) program, and Louisiana is on the list of 18 states and the District of Columbia advancing to the next phase of the competition. The next step in the application process is an interview that will take place in Washington, D.C. during the week of August 9. If selected as a Round Two winner, Louisiana could receive up to $175 million to implement the reform plan outlined in the state’s application.  Read More ...

Student achievement is improving in public schools across Louisiana. In fact, over the last two years alone, the percent of students performing at grade level on statewide assessments has increased by five percentage points – from 60 percent in 2008 to 65 percent in 2010. And according to a list published by the Louisiana Department of Education today, the gains in student achievement have resulted in fewer schools receiving the Academically Unacceptable School (AUS) label. While the most recent list includes eight schools that were not on the 2009 list, twelve schools that were previously labeled AUS boosted their School Performance Score (SPS) above the minimum standard to shed the AUS label.  Read More ...

When classes resume at Lafayette High School on August 12, math teacher Julia Williams will arrive in a bright new car. The eight-year veteran was named Louisiana’s 2011 Teacher of the Year tonight during the Fourth Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium and Celebration. The title not only comes with the use of a Mercedes Benz for one year, but it is a distinction of the highest honor.  Read More ...

Although most of the attention around Race to the Top (R2T) has centered on the $4.35 billion competitive grant program that required states to individually compete based on their commitment to identified education reform strategies, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) set aside R2T dollars to finance other education initiatives, and states are vying to earn a share of the funding. Read More ...

In response to prior and projected budget reductions, today the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) announced the additional layoff of 31 staff members. Through voluntary retirement and the elimination of vacant positions, the agency had previously trimmed its workforce by 34, thus resulting in an overall reduction of 65 employees.  Read More ...

Louisiana’s high school graduation rate has been on the rise over the last ten years, as evidenced by a new national report.  Read More ...

Today, a representative of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) delivered the state’s application for Round Two of the federal Race to the Top (R2T) grant to the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Read More ...

This week House Bill 1033 was approved by the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal. The legislation, which was part of Governor Jindal’s legislative package, links the evaluations of teachers and school administrators to student growth, and specifically calls for the annual evaluation of teachers and the statewide implementation of Louisiana’s value-added assessment model by the 2012-2013 school year. Read More ...

For the third consecutive year, Recovery School District students showed significant improvement in state standardized test scores, according to preliminary data released today.  Read More ...

Following historic gains in 2009, today Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) officials announced a second straight year of growth in the percentage of students scoring Basic and above for all grades and subjects tested on the state’s LEAP, GEE and iLEAP assessments. Read More ...

Today, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) issued an official statement in support of Louisiana’s Round Two Race to the Top (R2T) application. Read More ...

Today, the Louisiana Department of Education announced the 2010 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship recipients. One hundred and thirty-seven Louisiana graduates will benefit from the national scholarship program. Read More ...

Louisiana and other Gulf South states are fighting hard to protect cherished coastlines from the massive oil spill that has been building in the Gulf of Mexico for more than three weeks now. In an effort to ensure teachers, families and students have access to instructional tools and up-to-date information, the Louisiana Department of Education has posted an Oil Spill Educational Resource Guide on its website.  Read More ...

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), through the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), is now accepting applications from organizations interested in operating new Type 2, 4, or 5 charters. Read More ...