From charterschools at LACharter.org Mon Jun 22 17:16:05 2009 From: charterschools at LACharter.org (charterschools at LACharter.org) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:16:05 EDT Subject: [CharterSchools] SENATOR GRAY EVANS: JINDAL KILLED SCHOOL FACILITIES HELP Message-ID: HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE VOTES DOWN SCHOOL FACILITIES LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PUT LOUISIANA IN LINE WITH 41 OTHER STATES For the second year in a row, school children were denied improved buildings due to the position of Governor Jindal, despite strong leadership efforts in the State Legislature to create an authority to improve facilities. The House Appropriations Committee voted down legislation that would have created an authority designed to improve school facilities for the entire state of Louisiana. This legislation?SB 90?authored by Senator Cheryl Gray Evans received significant support from legislators across the state. It passed the entire Senate this legislative session and both the House and the Senate in the 2008 legislative session. ?Employees from the Administration sent by Governor Jindal spoke at every Committee Meeting against the legislation,? said Senator Gray Evans. ?The Administration believes that local schools districts should pay for facilities needs while at the same time he expects them to pay more for the operations of their schools than other districts in the southwest region.? Numerous organizations were in support of SB 90: Agenda for Children, Algiers Charter School Association, Avoyelles Parish School Board, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), Children?s Defense Fund, Citizens for One Greater New Orleans, Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools, League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, Louisiana Retired Teachers Association, Louisiana School Board Association, School Leadership Center, and many others. ?Not only was School Facility Authority legislation supported unanimously by legislators in 2008, the bills were also thoroughly researched by a Task Force created by HCR 230 (a school facilities resolution passed in the 2007 session) consisting of facilities experts from around the country who produced a report that was presented and approved by BESE in January of 2008,? said Senator Gray Evans. ?Why would the Administration work against good policy?? Louisiana ranks the fourth lowest among all states in terms of funding for public school facilities, Senator Gray Evans said. Forty-one other states provide some form of funding for their school facilities?Louisiana is not one of them. ?The fact is that Louisiana spends less on our schools than our regional counterparts. In 2004-2005, the last year for which good data is available, Louisiana schools spent less per student on their facilities than schools in Mississippi, Alabama, or Arkansas. In fact, Louisiana spent only 57 percent of the amount the Arkansas spent per pupil,? she said. ?At the same time, our local school districts already contribute a larger amount of funding per student than schools districts in Mississippi, Alabama, or Arkansas. While these four states spend similar amounts of money per student on operations, the state of Louisiana contributes the least per student of all of these states and local districts in Louisiana contribute the most per student. Our local school districts are already taxing themselves at a rate higher than other districts in our region just to run their schools, ? she added. Research conducted by the Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives showed that school facilities are in disrepair and the local tax based is not enough to provide repairs, maintenance, renovation or new construction. ?The Governor says that he is not supportive of SB 90 in part because of unmet need across the state in areas such as roads and state buildings. It is difficult to imagine a more pressing unmet need than the school buildings where the next generation of Louisianans is educated. Studies have demonstrated that improved school building quality is linked with improved student performance, teacher performance, and teacher retention,? said Senator Gray Evans. ?Louisiana should step up, as 41 other states have done, and offer funding for our school facilities. The issue of repair, renovation and construction of facilities will continue to come up and it is time for Louisiana to take the first steps to help achieve higher quality buildings for all of our children,? she said. For more info: NASH MOLPUS (nmolpus at tulane.edu) cheron brylski the brylski company 3418 coliseum street new orleans, louisiana 70115 (504) 897-6110 cell (504) 460-1468 fax (504) 897-0778 www.brylskicompany.com ************** An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221823273x1201398689/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62& bcd=JuneExcfooterNO62) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From charterschools at LACharter.org Tue Jun 23 11:08:00 2009 From: charterschools at LACharter.org (charterschools at LACharter.org) Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:08:00 -0400 Subject: [CharterSchools] School Leaders Work Through the Summer to Improve School Performance Message-ID: <8CBC22B883CD189-2398-51C8@webmail-stg-m06.sysops.aol.com> 49 Future Administrators Graduate from SLC's Aspiring Leaders Teachers with the leadership skills to be the next generation of principals in the metro-area's public, private and parochial schools completed the rigorous Aspiring Leaders program offered by the School Leadership Center Area Principals Prepare for School Year With SLC Summer Institute The Summer Institute is part of a two-year commitment to the School Leadership Center Fellows Program, desiged to intensify quality instruction and student outcomes at their campus http://blog.nola.com/charterschools/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From charterschools at LACharter.org Thu Jun 25 15:00:12 2009 From: charterschools at LACharter.org (charterschools at LACharter.org) Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:00:12 -0400 Subject: [CharterSchools] Attention Special Education Teachers! Message-ID: <8CBC3DE4D434F56-A0A0-869A@webmail-stg-m01.sysops.aol.com> The SUNS Center is accepting applications for their Special Education Leadership Academy! The Leadership Academy is an intensive, interactive two-year program designed?to help define the future direction of special education services for exceptional students by creating and enhancing the capacity of special education leaders to face the next wave of IDEA requirements and challenges.? For more information visit?http://www.thesunscenter.com/ or to download an application go to?http://www.thesunscenter.com/leadership_calendar.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From charterschools at LACharter.org Mon Jun 29 14:56:30 2009 From: charterschools at LACharter.org (charterschools at LACharter.org) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:56:30 -0400 Subject: [CharterSchools] LAPCS, ISL win Community Grants, state removes cap on charters Message-ID: <8CBC70272D0076A-1ABC-778@webmail-stg-d03.sysops.aol.com> LAPCS, ISL Awarded Community Partnership Grants Recipients were chosen by grant evaluators based on their project's impact on education, community improvement, healthcare, arts, and culture in the New Orleans community State Removes Cap on Charters The Louisiana Legislature passed legislation in the final week of the legislative session to eliminate the cap on the number of charter schools allowed to open and operate in the state of Louisiana, which was previously 70 http://blog.nola.com/charterschools/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: