Today, Recovery School District (RSD) Superintendent Patrick Dobard announced the selection of four new principals who will lead schools in the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone for the 2012-2013 school year, along with the appointments of two RSD-LA staff members.  Read More ...

"Through the student scholarship program, our state’s top-performing school district did a courageous thing by agreeing to accept students who right now do not have the quality choices Zachary community members enjoy.  Read More ...

The first year’s implementation of the Recovery School District’s (RSD’s) new equal access enrollment system has proven to be successful, with reports indicating that 84.2 percent of entering kindergarten and rising ninth grade applicants were matched to one of their top three school choices. In non-transition grades, the percentage was 76.4 and in pre-kindergarten, where the demand for seats is greater than the supply, the percentage was 67.7. Read More ...

Over the last week, State Superintendent of Education John White has been meeting with hundreds of educators across the state to develop a shared plan to improve student learning. And today, responding to the overwhelming response from educators to participate in the planning process, the Louisiana Department of Education announced teachers will have more opportunities to interact with the state education chief - this time through live, virtual Town Hall meetings. Read More ...

Each summer, Louisiana recognizes a Teacher of the Year. And today 24 teachers learned they are regional finalists for the coveted state title. These finalists, along with 15 Principal of the Year finalists, will be honored during the Sixth Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium and Celebration in July, when Louisiana’s Elementary, Middle and High School Teachers and Principals of the Year are named, along with Louisiana’s 2013 Teacher of the Year.  Read More ...

Today, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released the 2012 Call for Quality Schools, the annual Request for Applications (RFA) for groups seeking authorization to open state sanctioned charter schools. Read More ...

Today, the Recovery School District (RSD), along with several key Baton Rouge business and industry partners, educational leaders and community and non-profit organizations, announced the launch of the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone (BRAZ), an innovative reform model to address the needs of children currently attending low-performing schools in the parish by working collaboratively with parents and engaging community and business partners. The BRAZ, which will impact five local schools and approximately 10,000 students, will have a significant impact on turning around student learning and achievement. Each of the five schools in The Zone failed to meet the state’s minimum School Performance Score and thus earned the Academically Unacceptable label for at least three years. Read More ...

Last week, Governor Bobby Jindal signed House Bill 976 into law. Among other options, the legislation provides state-funded scholarships to students attending C, D, and F schools to enroll in state-approved nonpublic schools or A and B public schools outside their district or attendance zone.  Read More ...

The New Orleans Charter Application Task Force, which was recently commissioned by Recovery School District (RSD) Superintendent Patrick Dobard, released its recommendations today to improve the 2012 application process. Read More ...

Yesterday Governor Bobby Jindal signed three pieces of legislation calling for major changes in Louisiana’s Pre-K-12 education system. Wasting no time, today, State Superintendent of Education John White announced he is launching an extensive statewide outreach initiative, Louisiana Believes. White said he is asking educators to work with him on the formulation of a comprehensive plan to make certain these reforms are implemented to achieve one central objective: ensuring all students, at every grade level, are on track to attain a college degree or succeed in a professional career.  Read More ...

Educators, families, and communities across Louisiana work daily to foster the potential of Louisiana’s children. Tonight, state education leaders announced Louisiana’s 2012 Student of the Year winners and honored 18 regional finalists for the coveted award. State education leaders say these students are a testament to Louisiana’s relentless commitment to its children and the promise of our next generation. Read More ...

Today, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) announced three initiatives designed to support this objective, by making certain students have ample access and are mastering rigorous college and career ready courses. Read More ...

Louisiana was one of only six states awarded the federal Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant by the U.S. Department of Education in September. All total, the state is set to receive more than $148 million over the next five years. Today the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) announced the first cohort of 16 local school districts and one charter school that the agency will recommend to receive subgrants. A second round of grantees will be selected in 2013.  Read More ...

State Superintendent John White today announced initial findings and recommendations emerging from the 10-district pilot implementation of Compass, the state’s new educator effectiveness system. To provide more meaningful support to educators and improve instruction in Louisiana’s classrooms, the state is implementing the Compass system for all educators, beginning next school year. Over the last 20 months, educators statewide have tested various components of the new evaluation model through field testing and focus groups, with the most intensive work being accomplished through the 10-district pilot of the complete evaluation system. Read More ...

"If we want to change outcomes for our children, we adults have to change how we do our work. Today Louisiana’s Legislature demonstrated the courage to change for our children. The Legislature empowered superintendents to lead their districts, principals to lead their schools, and parents to choose what is best for their children. Now we turn away from politics, back to the hardest work of all: the day-to-day teaching, parenting, and caring for each and every child." Read More ...

Each year Louisiana recognizes extraordinary students through the Student of the Year awards program, and today the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released the names of the 18 regional finalists who will compete for the state title. The 18 regional finalists include one 5th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade student from six regions and represent public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools across Louisiana. The finalists and state winners for each of the three grades will be honored on April 18 during a ceremony in Baton Rouge.  Read More ...

Seven local community members, representing a cross section of business and industry, have been selected to serve on the Blue Ribbon Commission. The commission, which was included as a part of the revised School Facilities Master Plan, is charged with working with the Recovery School District (RSD) and Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) to create a strategic plan that will include recommendations on long-term capital investment and maintenance strategies for New Orleans public schools. Read More ...

Parents and guardians only have 10 days left to complete and submit their OneApp enrollment form to attend a Recovery School District (RSD) charter or direct-run school for the 2012-2013 school year. Since launching OneApp in early February, nearly 20,000 enrollment applications have been submitted. To aid parents in the completion of applications, the RSD has held more than 15 enrollment workshops throughout the city and recently partnered with the Louisiana Language Access Coalition, Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans (VAYLA-NO) and Puentes New Orleans, Inc. to create videos on how to complete the application. Read More ...

In August 2010 the Recovery School District and Orleans Parish School Board reached a settlement with FEMA for approximately $2.2 Billion to rebuild schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Keeping in line with its commitment to build better, healthier schools for students in New Orleans, yesterday four Recovery School District (RSD) schools were recognized for achieving LEED® certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Andrew H. Wilson Charter School achieved LEED Gold and Lake Area New Tech Early College, Langston Hughes Academy Charter School, and L.B. Landry High School each achieved LEED Silver. Read More ...

Governor Bobby Jindal and legislators say they have a plan to keep the best teachers in the classroom. Specifically, the Governor and lawmakers are proposing policy changes that would allow districts and schools to use measures of teacher effectiveness to guide personnel policies and decisions. Today, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) issued a white paper, Empowering Teachers and Leaders: A Focus on Effectiveness, which summarizes current state and local policies and practices as well as the projected impact of the proposed changes on Louisiana educators, educational leaders, and students. Read More ...

Louisiana students and educators are gearing up to take standardized assessments. To support preparation, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is once again offering assistance to parents and students through its Tutoring Hotline. LDOE is also reminding families, students and teachers to take advantage of other available resources. Read More ...

Governor Bobby Jindal has introduced a plan to provide all students in Louisiana who are currently attending C, D, or F schools with tuition assistance to attend approved nonpublic schools or the opportunity to attend an A or B public school in another parish. Similar legislation, which was passed in 2008, established a comparable program for students in Orleans Parish. Today, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) issued a white paper summarizing the proposed changes and outlining a delivery method for the agency to administer the program.  Read More ...

Today, Recovery School District (RSD) Superintendent Patrick Dobard joined Mrs. Laura Bush and representatives from the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries (LBFAL) as the Foundation made its final distribution of grants to school libraries as part of the Gulf Coast School Library Recovery initiative. Read More ...

This week, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is launching a series of meetings to provide principals and local superintendents with detailed information to guide the implementation the national Common Core State Standards and the state’s new educator evaluation system, COMPASS. The first meetings took place Wednesday in Baton Rouge. All total, during this first two-week session of meetings, the agency will host 31 statewide meetings in Monroe, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria and the New Orleans area between February 29 and March 12. Read More ...

Consider this: Nearly 80 percent of Louisianans were born and raised in Louisiana; in Florida, that figure is less than 40 percent. So it’s doubly important to our future that we educate our children.  Read More ...