Education
New Board of Regents administrator has professors concerned about job security
A new addition to the staff at the Louisiana Board of Regents has turned the heads of some professors at state colleges. Dr. Tristan Denley, deputy commissioner of academic affairs and innovation, comes from the University of Georgia System where he helped institute a controversial performance review policy for tenured academics. Professors with tenure typically […]
Union leaders: Proposed pay raise for Louisiana teachers not enough
Gov. John Bel Edwards has proposed pay raises for K-12 teachers and support staff in the state budget for the second year in a row, and leaders of Louisiana’s teachers unions say it’s a step in the right direction. But they admit it falls well short of what’s needed to address a chronic teacher shortage […]
Southern narrows president-chancellor search to 3 finalists
Southern University has narrowed the search for its next president and chancellor to three finalists. They will take part in a final round of interviews next week. The finalist are: Laurence Alexander, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in New Orleans Dennis Shields, chancellor of the […]
More COVID-19 in Louisiana now than ever before, state health officials say
The amount of COVID-19 in Louisiana is higher now than it ever has been at any point in the pandemic, state officials said during Gov. John Bel Edwards’ press conference Thursday afternoon. Louisiana will be at elevated levels of COVID-19 cases, percent positive test results and hospitalizations “for quite a while,” Edwards said. “The risk […]
Less than half of Louisiana K-3 students reading at or above grade level
Reading skills for more than half of Louisiana’s kindergarten through third-grade students were below grade level last fall, according to a Louisiana Department of Education report. On the upside, data shared Tuesday at a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting also showed more students reached grade-level status or above as they advanced each year. […]
Nearly $24 million in Louisiana student loans canceled in Navient settlement
More than a thousand students from Louisiana who borrowed money for their education from the loan servicer Navient will have their debt forgiven after a settlement was reached between the company at 39 states, Attorney General Jeff Landry announced Thursday. The outstanding total debt being forgiven in the Navient student loan settlement for Louisiana is […]
Despite teachers’ COVID sickout, East Baton Rouge schools stay in-person
East Baton Rouge Parish public schools will continue in-person learning despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and more than 700 teachers calling out sick in protest. Superintendent Sito Narcisse said in a statement to the Louisiana Illuminator that the school system’s current COVID-19 mitigation measures – including mandatory masking, weekly mandatory staff testing, deep […]
Louisiana teachers union stages sickout, demands classes go virtual
Teachers in the East Baton Rouge branch of the Louisiana Association of Educators announced a planned “sickout” Wednesday to protest the school system’s response to the recent COVID-19 surge and teacher shortages this semester. “Our staff is experiencing burnout, and our students are not getting the education they need and deserve with all of these […]
Omicron COVID-19 leads schools around Louisiana to go virtual
Following reports of several positive COVID-19 cases among students, elementary and high schools in Baton Rouge and New Orleans have moved to virtual learning. Starting Tuesday, Audubon, Bernard Terrace and LaSalle elementary schools in Baton Rouge will move to virtual learning until Jan. 18. During that period, the impacted classrooms will be closed for deep […]
Southern president-chancellor finalists include 2 current Louisiana university leaders
Southern University announced the five semi-finalist candidates for the next president-chancellor of the system. The finalists include: Laurence Alexander, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff James Ammons, chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in New Orleans Dennis Shields, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Platteville […]
Mandatory masking will stay in place in Louisiana colleges and universities amid COVID-19 surge
Louisiana college students will return for the spring semester masked up in response to increasing COVID-19 cases due to fast-spreading omicron variant. All Louisiana college system presidents have committed to keeping the mask mandate in place, state higher education commissioner Kim Hunter Reed said during a Board of Regents meeting Thursday. Along with a mask […]
Report: Grambling mayor opposes $18 million security barrier around university
Grambling Mayor Ed Jones said he opposes additional fencing around Grambling State University and would challenge it in court if need be, according to a report from The News Star. The proposed $18 million barrier fencing project is meant to control traffic and increase security for students, faculty and staff at the university. Two deadly […]