Category: Uncategorized

It is so incredibly disappointing that this board has not followed through on its promise of executing a long-term contract for Dr. Sito Narcisse. As a result, he is now in consideration for the Broward County, Florida Superintendent job. Here is a partial list of Dr. Narcisse’s tremendous accomplishments in just two years leading the East Baton Rouge Parish School District:

• 2,200 additional quality preschool seats

• a $20 million investment in instructional materials and 53 new literacy coaches to boost third grade reading

• Focus Choice Schools and Pathways to Bright Futures that are providing students the greatest scope of career and college preparation options ever offered in East Baton Rouge

• Innovative programming that has lifted the percentage of student who finish their make-or-break ninth grade year on-track to graduate on time from 67% to 84%

• Balanced budget for two years in a row with a $111 million surplus balance at the end of the 2022-2023 school year – the largest surplus in district history – with a promised teacher pay raise

• $80 million from EBR voters through four millage renewals this spring for student resources and teacher raises.

Despite these tremendous strides forward for students, educators, and our community, the board has not ensured Dr. Narcisse will stay long-term.

Shameful.

After years of drift and because of Dr. Narcisse’s student-centered effective leadership, we are FINALLY seeing gains for ALL students in Baton Rouge. Fear, reluctance to change, and a refusal to acknowledge the strong gains being made – in spite of the facts and data – by some board members may, yet again, let our students and community down.
Our students deserve better, and we DEMAND better.

We call upon board leadership to take immediate action to execute a contract with Dr. Narcisse that assures our school district has the sustained, effective leadership we sorely need. Dr. Narcisse

Thank you for Standing with us,

Carrie Griffin Monica,

Stand for Children Louisiana Executive Director

Last week was the first full week of legislative committee meetings and it wasn’t long before the House and Senate took up important and sometimes controversial legislation. All bills and committee agendas may be found on the legislative website at legis.la.gov or the #LA LEGE app.

Last Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee, two bills that Stand is tracking were heard.

· SB 150 (Sen. Robert Mills) would create The Louisiana Literacy Advisory Commission within the State Department of Education. It was reported favorably as amended.

· SB 197 (Sen. Peacock) would revise teacher certification requirements such as the required 2.2 GPA for entrance into a teacher education program. If a student does not have the mandatory GPA, if this bill passes the student could still enter a program on a conditional basis. It also would allow a certification candidate who did not pass PRAXIS examinations to be issued a conditional teaching certificate. SB 197 was reported favorably as amended.

On Thursday, the House Education Committee met and reported favorably HB 191 (Rep. Jefferson), which would add in statute that a teacher providing instruction in a public school but not employed by the public school governing authority may be credited with his years of teaching if he is performing services for the school pursuant to a corporate contract with a company approved by BESE to provide these services and he receives a successful evaluation according to BESE policy. Stand LEAD Fellow Tibberly ______ testified in support of the bill.

This week is a very full week of committee activity. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary C Committee will hear SB 111 (Rep. Duplessis), which would provide resources to update the technology systems at the Louisiana Supreme Court and State Police. With updated technology, expungement of criminal records of those already eligible will be more streamlined which would lessen the cost and make the process more efficient. Stand strongly supports this legislation, which would allow more citizens to get jobs, housing, and better the lives of themselves and their families while helping to improve the economy. Keep an eye out for Stand’s Action Alert requesting contacts to Judiciary C members in support of SB 111.

The House Education Committee will meet twice this week, with both days having full agendas. On Tuesday, Stand will be present to oppose HB 164 (Rep. Cox) which would lower from 17 to 15 the required ACT score to qualify for a TOPS-Tech award. TOPS-Tech is a merit-based scholarship and lowering the ACT would result in watering down standards. When standards are lowered, too often students do not get the specialized attention they may need to be successful.

We will also be there to support HB 462 (Rep. Edmonds) which would require public school governing authorities to post fiscal information on their websites.

On Wednesday, Stand will support HB 242 (Rep. Hilferty) which would prohibit any form of corporal punishment in public schools unless a parent or legal guardian provides written consent for the use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline for his child. Requires the state Dept. of Education to create the document with which a parent would provide consent each school year. This bill prohibits any form of corporal punishment for students with exceptionalities.

Stay tuned for Action Alerts and Updates!

Stand is pleased to co-sponsor, along with the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children and other partners, Early Education Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, May 10 from 9a.m. to 3p.m. Please consider coming to the Capitol to show your support for quality early care and education to legislators. Click here to register for Early Ed Day.

Last week, the pace picked up as the Legislature decided to adjourn Thursday for the holiday weekend. A number of bills that Stand is tracking were voted on, with more receiving committee hearings.

HB 269 by Rep. Nelson passed the House with a vote of 84-12 and has been sent to the Senate. This bill would prohibit promotion to the fourth grade if a student has reading deficiencies that have not been remedied by the end of the third grade.

HB 649 by Rep. Hilferty would prohibit corporal punishment in public schools. It was voted on in the House on May 5 and failed by a narrow margin, 51-42. A motion to reconsider the vote is pending.

Last Wednesday, SB 47 by Sen. Fields passed the Senate 36-0. SB 47 would require public schools to offer pre-K. It has been assigned to the House Education Committee and is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday.

The Senate also voted favorably last Wednesday on SB 50 by Sen. Hewitt, which passed 35-0. This bill would allow students who attended schools that did not offer desired technical courses to attend other public schools that did have those classes. It too has been assigned to House Education and will be heard Wednesday.

This week will have a heavy workload as legislators try to move all of the legislative instruments before sine die on June 6. The Revenue Estimating Conference will meet Monday morning, and if additional state revenue is recognized it is possible that teacher and support staff pay raises could be higher than what has been proposed in HCR 23.

HCR 23 by Rep. Lance Harris will be heard Monday morning in the House Appropriations Committee. The resolution has already been reported favorably out of the House Education Committee. It is the $4 billion plus MFP that allocates state funds to support approximately 650,000 students enrolled in public education across the state. This year’s proposed MFP includes an increase of about $200 million over last year’s formula. Most of that increase is for teacher and support worker pay raises. The Legislature cannot amend the MFP, which is submitted by BESE, it can only accept or reject it.

Also on the Appropriations Committee agenda is HB 526 by Rep. Edmonds. This bill would require local school boards to post financial information on their websites.

Finally in that committee is HB 707 by Rep. Duplessis. HB 707 would align Louisiana with most other states by instituting automatic expungement of criminal records after a certain period of time for specific crimes.

The House Education Committee is meeting on both Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Tuesday’s agenda lists a handful of vaccine bills, but also includes several that Stand is tracking, some in support and some in opposition.

HB 536 by Rep. Cox would lower the minimum ACT score required to qualify for a TOPS-Tech scholarship from 17 to 15.

HB 782 by Rep. Phelps would require that the appointment of a principal by a superintendent be subject to the approval of the local school board.

HB 792 by Rep. Phelps provides relative to literacy instruction and reading support services for overage students in grades 6-12.

HB 808 by Rep. Hodges would expand the Parents’ Bill of Rights for Public Schools by adding the following language as a right: “That the school shall not discriminate against their child by teaching the child that the child is currently or destined to be oppressed or to be an oppressor based on the child’s race or national origin.”

As previously mentioned, Wednesday’s agenda includes SBs 47 and 50, but also the following bills of interest.

SB 45 by Sen. Foil would require that public school governing authorities adopt policies relative to cameras in certain classrooms by 12/31/22.

SB 190 by Sen. Hewitt would establish the Computer Science Education Act to develop a computer science education program.

SB 261 by Sen. Fields would provide for public postsecondary education transfer pathways.

As of the wriring of this blog, the Senate Education Committee has not yet posted its agenda but it will be online 24 hours prior to the meeting date.

We will continue to keep you informed throughout the session. All bills can be viewed at the legislative website legis.la.gov.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a “retreat” as a period of group withdrawal for study or instruction under a director. On Saturday, April 9th, I packed my bags and headed to the state capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the Stand for Children Louisiana LEAD Fellowship retreat. After teaching for more than 20 years, I felt a responsibility to have my voice heard. LEAD gives you the tools on how to be an advocate for education.

Teachers are lifelong learners, and I was determined to learn more about public policy and advocacy. I have been a LEAD (Louisiana Educator Advocacy Educator) fellow for three years.  We meet virtually monthly, but this is the first time since 2018 that we are meeting in person.

Day 0

Our first event for the LEAD retreat was a welcome dinner Saturday night for those of us traveling from out of town.  These people in person were very different than just a face in a box on a computer screen from our webinars.  Despite the fact that we had spent months getting to know each other virtually, sitting there in person was awkward. 

However, once we made our in-person introductions and shared our thoughts on advocacy and policy, I remembered that these are phenomenal educators from all over the state and we are all here for the same reason, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.   

Day 1

On Sunday, April 10th, we all met up in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30 a.m. and walked to the Stand Louisiana office for the first day of our retreat.  We were greeted by the extraordinary Karen Clark, Marketing, Communications, and Development Director for Stand Louisiana. The incomparable, Kim Eckert, 2018 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year, (one of her very many accolades) facilitated the day’s schedule including facilitated networking; the incredible guest speaker, Tramelle Howard, East Baton Rouge Parish School System Board Member; equity in education, leadership, advocacy, policy, and the making change protocol. The end of the first day came too quickly. 

My fellow LEAD advocates include teachers, librarians, and administrators but in this room, we all have one goal: to impact education policy for the good of the communities we serve.

Faten works with other LEAD Fellows in a small group.

We walked back to our hotel where some of us headed back to our rooms to recharge and some of us, including myself, headed to the pool to relax and chat. We all met up in the lobby at 5:30 p.m. and walked to the restaurant. Dinner was a conversation about current bills and policy led by Stand Louisiana’s Executive Director, Carrie Griffin Monica and Government Affairs Director, Brigitte Nieland, to prepare us for our visit to the Capitol the following day.

Day 2

Monday, April 11th, we met up in the lobby and walked to the Stand Louisiana office for a brief orientation.  From there, we walked to the Capitol. When we arrived, we took a group picture for posterity and then headed into the Capitol building. The feeling of walking into this historical building is overwhelming.  This is my 2nd time visiting the Capitol building and I still had this immense feeling of history.  You can read about the Capitol and its history but there is no substitute for experiential learning that happens when you are there.  We started the day with a mock committee meeting.  The LEAD fellows all agreed, THIS was their favorite part of the retreat. We played the role of the bill author, committee member, committee chair, concerned community member, and subject matter expert. The experience of being part of a mock committee meeting taught us about the ceremony of it all including the procedures, the language, and the order. 

Faten sits at the table to provide testimony during a mock committee meeting.

After lunch in the Capitol’s cafeteria, LEAD fellows attended a House Appropriations Meeting where we were recognized by Representative Jack McFarland.  We also attended a meeting of the Senate Committee on Retirement about a bill that could double pay for retired teachers who return to the classroom. Next, Fellows went on a tour of the Capitol including a trip to the top of the tower. Of course, another group picture for posterity was necessary.

Faten stretches to take a group selfie at the top of the Capitol building in Baton Rouge.

We then attended a full House meeting where we watched Representatives debate more bills.  A great day of learning! Honestly, what we saw and what we heard just validated why we need more educators to be advocates and have their voices heard.  Whether we voice our perspectives or not, laws are being passed that will affect us and our communities.  Our silence also says something.

We went directly to dinner where we got to spend time with Dr. Cade Brumley, Louisiana State Superintendent, and many of our BESE (Board of Elementary and Secondary Education) members. We spoke candidly about our profession, our students, our communities, and our perspectives on laws.  We also heard the same from the BESE members.  This type of conversation allows BESE to better represent us and allows us to better understand BESE members’ role and thought processes.

Faten talks with Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley.

This day was a culmination of our preparation for months, sharing our voice with policy and law makers.

Day 3

Tuesday, April 12th, we drove to the Claiborne Building, home of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) and BESE meetings. Yes, another group picture but with shades because our future is so bright. First, we met with Torey Hayward, Director of Teacher Leadership at LDOE, who shared his inspirational story with the LEAD Fellows. I know Torey as a fellow teacher from Jefferson Parish. There were quite a lot of familiar faces working at LDOE; people I had worked with that I was elated to see again. Fellow educators who are making a difference working to make education for our communities better.

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Faten and the rest of the Fellows had to wear shades because the future is BRIGHT!

Fellows then attended BESE committee meetings where they were recognized by Dr. Brumley. 

The Retreat

The retreat was full of activities and experiences but just like that, the retreat came to an end. 

Where else could I have met these incredible educators from all over the state? Although, we all have different areas of expertise, being in a room of like-minded people is just what I needed.

Listening to stories and experiences of other LEAD Fellows and how they got to this point in their education career was inspiring.  Hearing about their struggles, challenges, and successes was empowering.  Learning about public policy advocacy, how to find your voice and be heard by policy makers is priceless. If you are an educator, and want to have your voice heard, apply to the LEAD Fellowship and become an advocate!