About 200 people filled the pews at Woodlawn Baptist Church on the night of Mardi Gras to learn more about a new proposed school district that would be the fourth one carved out of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. State Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, confessed he was not sure of the support for a new … Continue reading →

LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center has the best bar exam passage rates in the nation when compared to the LSAT scores of incoming law school students, according to a national report. The new study by The National Jurist magazine on the “Best Schools for Bar Exam Preparation” examines bar passage rates compared to the academic quality … Continue reading →

About 20 teenagers showed up before dawn in Room 201 of the middle-school building at Episcopal High School recently, donned headphones and listened to a woman in Shanghai, China, teach them words associated with putting money into an envelope. On that Feb. 8 morning, the students were learning Mandarin Chinese as part of a pilot program. It … Continue reading →

BAKER — The Baker School Board will ask voters March 24 to renew a 38.2-mill property tax that supplements other state and local funding for the city’s school system. The millage already was in place to supplement East Baton Rouge Parish school operations when the Baker system split from the parish in 2003, … Continue reading →

Faculty complaints are stalling the implementation of fully online degree programs at Southern University System campuses, but the system’s president said they are moving forward with the expanded online emphasis. The Southern University of New Orleans Faculty Senate already has opposed faculty participation in the programs, and the faculty leadership of the main Baton Rouge campus is … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s 2012 public schools agenda is a “swinging-for-the-fences” plan aimed at boosting his state legacy and national ambitions, political scientists say. “The governor appears to be trying to cash his chips in, if you will,” said Albert Samuels, chairman of the Department of Political Science at Southern University. Pearson Cross, who holds the same … Continue reading →

The Southern University System Foundation has received its largest bequest ever through a gift that totals roughly $1.3 million, according to the university. The endowment comes from estate sales through the James and Ruth Smith Trust. The late James David Smith died in 2008 and his wife, Ruth Johnson Smith, died in 2006. They met at Southern … Continue reading →

The unity the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board mustered Thursday in finally settling on an interim superintendent could prove short-lived as board members with divided opinions try to decide the best way to find a permanent replacement for School Superintendent John Dilworth. School Board President Barbara Freiberg and Vice President Tarvald Smith have sketched out … Continue reading →

LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish School Board voted Thursday to hire a specialized law firm to help the system adjudicate certain disciplinary cases. The 9-0 vote came after Superintendent Bill Spear recommended the board authorize the hiring of the Hammonds & Sills law firm of Baton Rouge and Monroe. The move would give the … Continue reading →

A state emergency funding board signed off Thursday on using $2 million to tear down four abandoned and dilapidated dormitories at Southern University. State Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater argued the funding was needed because of vandalism and asbestos within the old buildings representing a danger to the students who live in new student housing nearby. Continue reading →

A Democratic leader Thursday criticized Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to revamp job protection laws for public schoolteachers. State Rep. John Bel Edwards, of Amite, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, disputed arguments that nearly every teacher in the state routinely gets “satisfactory” ratings. He also blasted Jindal’s call to toughen hurdles for future teachers before they … Continue reading →

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Thursday picked Carlos Sam, director of magnet programs, to serve as the district’s interim superintendent, ending an eight-day deadlock that threatened to leave the school system leaderless when Superintendent John Dilworth has his last day on Feb. 24. In an unrelated matter, the School Board narrowly approved an … Continue reading →

LSU-Shreveport should merge into Louisiana Tech University within the nine-school University of Louisiana System according to a new study commissioned by Shreveport-area business leaders and the Louisiana Board of Regents that was released Thursday. Consolidating the institutions would mean a larger Louisiana Tech with both Ruston and Shreveport campuses and the LSU affiliation would be lost. The … Continue reading →

U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has added Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief political strategist to lead his 2012 re-election campaign in a move that observers argue points to a possible 2014 challenge of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. Former Jindal chief of staff, Timmy Teepell, now a partner in the OnMessage national political consulting firm, also is … Continue reading →

A sharply divided East Baton Rouge Parish School Board likely will pick an interim superintendent Thursday night to replace departing Superintendent John Dilworth, but the board’s president won’t say who it would be. “I would say that there is a high probability that we will have an interim voted on and approved tomorrow night,” Board President Barbara … Continue reading →

The unity the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board mustered Thursday in finally settling on an interim superintendent could prove short-lived as board members with divided opinions try to decide the best way to find a permanent replacement for School Superintendent John Dilworth. School Board President Barbara Freiberg and Vice President Tarvald Smith have sketched out … Continue reading →

A proposal to create an inner-city Baton Rouge public boarding school gets its first test Thursday as backers seek the approval of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. A team of evaluators led by the assistant principal of high schools, however, is urging the School Board to reject the proposal, saying it needs to show it … Continue reading →

LSU is hosting the Region VII Science and Engineering Fair which started on Tuesday, and continues through today in the LSU Student Union’s Royal Cotillion Ballroom. The fair consists of students from middle and high schools in seven parishes including East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, East Feliciana and West Feliciana. Continue reading →

LSU is the “sexiest college” in the country, according to a new list by Maxim magazine that caters to young men. The magazine’s listing of “The Sexiest Things in America” encourages people to, “Take a road trip down to Baton Rouge, where football is king, gumbo abounds, and the student bodies are magna cum hotties.” But … Continue reading →

The LSU Faculty Senate introduced a resolution Tuesday that criticizes the leadership and communication of the LSU administration and requests a new provost be identified by July 1. But a final vote on the resolution will not come until March. The proposed resolution particularly targets LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Jack Hamilton, who is scheduled … Continue reading →

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is proposing a bevy of new programs ranging from degrees in music and accounting to graduate certificates in historical preservation. The UL System Board of Supervisors signed off on four such UL-Lafayette programs Tuesday that must still be approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education statewide. Continue reading →

Private schools that accept students who get state aid should face the same scrutiny as public schools, including annual letter grades, officials of the Louisiana Budget Project said in a report released Tuesday. “A dramatic expansion of private school vouchers, like what the governor is proposing, demands an equally strong commitment to accountability and transparency,” the … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to give parents the authority to force changes in troubled public schools, based on a California law promoted by a longtime Democrat and veteran of the Clinton White House. The plan, which is known as the “parent trigger” law, was touched on by Jindal in his Jan. 17 speech spelling out his 2012 … Continue reading →

A state grand jury indicted Tangipahoa School Board President Eric Dangerfield, his wife and five relatives on charges of stealing from the state’s Medicaid program, the Louisiana attorney general reported Tuesday. Dangerfield, 59, and his wife Cassandra, 52, both of Hammond, were each charged Thursday with nine felony counts including six of theft by fraud, according to … Continue reading →

Supporters of having Herman Brister Sr. named interim superintendent for East Baton Rouge Parish schools may have another chance this week to try to persuade a divided board to make the appointment, the School Board’s vice president said Monday. At its last meeting, on Wednesday, the 11-member School Board rejected in a 5-6 vote promoting Brister from … Continue reading →

The Southern University Board of Supervisors opted Monday to delay, and possibly defeat, a proposal that would have done away with the system of board members independently awarding scholarships to students. Southern board student member Demetrius Sumner proposed changing the Southern Board’s Educational Assistance Scholarship Program Policy so that the scholarship dollars are funneled to the campuses … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s school voucher plan won’t work, the head of nonprofit advocacy group said Monday. The money available will not be enough, plus the Jindal administration does not support imposing the same accountability standards on private schools that are required for public schools, said Melissa Flournoy, the former state representative who is director of the Coalition … Continue reading →

Louisiana’s superintendents are asking the Jindal administration to require that private and parochial schools that accept students who get state aid also receive an annual letter grade like public schools. In addition, students who get the aid should be required to take the same state skills tests as students do in public schools, said Michael Faulk, president … Continue reading →

LSU is planning to install a roundabout at the campus entrance on Dalyrmple Drive and install several other gateway monuments welcoming people to campus at the university’s other major entrances. The goal is to create more clear distinctions of campus entrances and to add more “iconic” monuments to the campus, said Jason Soileau, LSU assistant director of … Continue reading →

Southern University Chancellor James Llorens braved snowstorms and travel delays last month during a whirlwind, weeklong trip to Turkey — all in the name of increasing student enrollment. With Southern’s student enrollment dipping from nearly 9,500 students to 7,000 students during the past several years, Southern is putting a new emphasis on international student recruiting as one … Continue reading →

Plans for the south end zone expansion of Tiger Stadium are “progressing very well,” LSU Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director Joe Alleva said Friday. Continue reading →

LAFAYETTE — The makeover of Northside High School is ahead of schedule with students, faculty and the community pushing the effort forward, new Principal Melinda Voorhies told a group of visitors that included state Superintendent of Education John White on Friday. Continue reading →

With Herman Brister Sr. apparently out of the running, East Baton Rouge Parish School Board members are floating the names of other candidates to serve as interim superintendent and run the system for the next few months. Brister, chief academic officer for the school district since 2008, lost a 6-5 vote Wednesday night to take over … Continue reading →

GREENSBURG — The St. Helena Parish School Board on Thursday unanimously adopted its 2010-11 audit report, which cites only a minor error in record-keeping at the campus level. The smudge was discovered in the “School Activity Fund Procedures Manual,” a policy designated for tracking school expenses such as sporting events or field trips, and stemmed … Continue reading →

ZACHARY — The Zachary Community School Board approved a reorganization of the central office and the transfer of some school administrators Thursday stemming from a coming move to national standards in four “core subjects” and the construction of a new school. Superintendent Warren Drake recommended, and the board approved, splitting a central office instructional division … Continue reading →

BAKER — Based on 2010-11 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program scores, 35 percent of students in Baker public schools are “at risk requiring intensive support,” a new report says. The information was included in a Response to Intervention handbook the Baker School Board unanimously adopted Thursday. Superintendent Ulysses Joseph said the manual was prepared by … Continue reading →

JACKSON -- Speakers at Dixon Correctional Institute graduation exercises told the group of inmates Thursday that their educational experiences behind bars would give them an opportunity to escape a life of crime and incarceration. “Education will open the doors, but common sense will keep them open,” motivational speaker Danna “Dr. Truth” … Continue reading →

Legislative lawyers are drafting a bill that could lead to the wedge of neighborhoods south of Interstate 12 and east of Interstate 10 to withdraw from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, according to a state senator. “The bills are being prepared right now,” state Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, told about 39 businessmen and businesswomen over … Continue reading →

New Baton Rouge Community College Chancellor Andrea Lewis Miller is taking over the job next week after interim Chancellor Jim Horton wraps up his duties on Friday. Miller, who is moving from her job heading SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles, said Wednesday that she is “extremely excited” about the new opportunity, even if leaving her … Continue reading →

The Advocate incorrectly reported Wednesday that Eleanor Lassiter, who is principal of Gonzales Primary School, will resign July 1. Lassiter, in fact, will retire effective July 1 after 22 years. The Advocate regrets the error.