Education leaders participate in DOE forum

State Superintendent John White explained the federal Every Student Succeeds Act to education leaders from around northeastern Louisiana and asked for ways to better serve teachers' and students' needs.

White said the forum is part of a nine-month process to develop the state's final, long-term plan from implementing ESSA. The plan will be effective for the 2017-18 school year.

The federal act asks how states will provide a fair and equitable playing field for students of all levels, White said, and tries to widen the curriculum.

The audience of about 100 educators met Thursday at the Monroe City School Board office and offered ideas on leadership development, how to retain qualified teachers and the best ways to develop a curriculum that will lead to student success.

Already, White said the state is aligning and unifying early childhood education; has raised expectations and aligned K-12 curriculum to reflect that; is bringing new educators into classrooms with a full year of mentoring; is broadening pathways through Jump Start, AP and dual enrollment;  and is focusing on historically struggling schools.

"When you raise the expectation, when you make the curriculum and the test more challenging, the pernicious achievement gaps that exist within our population stop shrinking — and they grew," White said.

White said teachers have asked for more tools to help special needs and English as a Second Language students and have requested month-to-month assessments that are in line with the annual assessments. Principals of alternative schools, he said, have asked for a different grading system because they are, by nature, different from traditional schools.

Louisiana, White said, has the second-highest low-income percentage of students in the nation with about 70 percent. When looking at the percentages low-income gifted/talented, AP or language immersion students, White said, data show that low-income students are not getting the full benefit of those programs.

"It looks like where we have tried to provide an enriched, well-rounded curriculum, too often our low-income kids are not getting the equity that they need, and we will have to think about this — a challenge," he said.

White said the state is working to develop a birth-to-college education plan and give teachers better assessment tools to accurately assess students and get them the help they need in earlier grades.

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