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Jindal pushes virtual programs

January 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Louisiana Virtual School offers a full range of high-school classes from English, math and biology basics to electives such as game design and fine arts. Parents can enroll their child in the school through the administration of their current traditional school.

The program has grown rapidly since its creation in the 2000-01 school year. When it started, the state offered 12 courses to 130 students in nine school districts; last year, 5,234 students from 68 school districts took more than 68 courses.

Students in Terrebonne and Lafourche participate in the virtual school. One of those students is Nicholas Gonzalez of Schriever, who will soon be 17 years old.

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Reform plan hits on sensitive problems

January 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal says he’s not surprised that his extensive agenda for revising education in Louisiana already is drawing opposition from those who would be affected by the proposed changes.

Jindal laid out for members of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry a series of “reforms” that he will present for the Legislature to consider in a session that begins March 12.

The governor’s plan touches on issues that in past years have been sensitive and legislators have been reluctant to address. Jindal said now is the time to address those issues.

School boards around the state object to those proposals because every time a student gets a voucher, goes to a charter school or enrolls in a virtual school, that’s less funding for current schools. The formula for public schools is based largely on enrollment.

Jindal said the state is making improvements in education but “it’s clear that we need to move faster and we need to do it now. Our children do not have time to wait. They only grow up once and they have one shot to receive a quality education.

“We can’t wait for another generation of students to graduate from high school unprepared for the workforce and higher education — or to dropout before they even get there,” he said. “This applies not only to K-12 education, but to early childhood education as well.”

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Virtual program takes shape for the 2012-13 school year

January 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Students in St. Martin Parish will now be able to learn through a non-traditional approach. The school board decided at their December meeting that they would adopt a Virtual Program for the 2012-13 school year.

The program will allow student to take classes at home, but also be eligible to participate in all co-curricular and extracurricular school activities. The program includes students from grades 7th through 12th.

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New Orleans Selected as Host City for Official Kickoff of National School Choice Week 2012; Major Celebration Planned for Lakefront Arena on January 21, 2012

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

New Orleans is widely considered a city with a wealth of quality schooling options for children. Parents can select from public schools, public charter schools, virtual schools, private and parochial schools, and homeschooling. As a result of reforms in New Orleans, student achievement and attainment has increased and parental satisfaction with education options is overwhelming.

The National School Choice Week 2012 Kickoff in New Orleans will be held at the Lakefront Arena from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM and will feature multiple performances by the legendary Temptations and by entertainer Ellis Marsalis, is free and open to school choice supporters. RSVPs are recommended at http://www.SchoolChoiceWeek.com. Additional speakers, celebrity guests, and activities will be announced in the next two weeks, organizers said.

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St. Martin to offer virtual school

January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

LAFAYETTE — More educational options will be available to St. Martin Parish school students starting this summer with the launch of the district’s new virtual school.

The school will give students in grades 7-12 the option to take online courses at home or at a site designated for the virtual school. Students can enroll in one course or take their entire course through the program, said Richard Lavergne, St. Martin Parish schools superintendent.

Interested students will enroll through their zoned school site and be able to participate in that school’s activities.

The program targets independent learners, Lavergne said.

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Competition raises the bar

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With Civil Service and tenure, it is almost impossible to remove poor performers or those who won’t compete for excellence. And the taxpayers and students pay the price.

Of course, charter schools, virtual schools, private schools and home schooling have no tenure. Administrators are free to do what is best for the child, by making sure the best teacher is in the classroom—and rewarding excellence with more pay.

The forces of free enterprise reward or punish the providers for the quality of their service and product. (Isn’t that why there is a scoreboard at the LSU games for everyone to see? And the teachers unions and school boards wanted to keep parents from seeing the letter grades for their schools. Sad.)

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St. Martin Parish School Board approves implementation of academic Virtual Program

December 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After board member Floyd Knott moved to accept the virtual school with funding for the facility coming from the district’s Capitol Projects Fund, board member Mark Hebert immediately asked if a student with behavioral problems could use the program from home.

Lavergne said yes, adding that seventh- through 12th-grade students could either attend the virtual school or attend the parish Juvenile Court Enrichment Program school in St. Martinville.

Board member Steve Fuselier then suggested moving the new program into the old early Learning Center in St. Martinville.

Fuselier said the building is occupied by the St. Martin Parish District Attorney’s Office and courtrooms while the parish courthouse is renovated but would cost much less to renovate than other locations.

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Public school enrollment growth drives up costs

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Economics could have contributed to that because there was a decrease in kindergarten enrollment at nonpublic schools.

Two new virtual schools show an enrollment of 1,843. Scioneaux said the schools report that 50 percent of their enrollments are students who were home-schooled or attended private schools.

Magnet schools are attracting students, and programs aimed at preventing dropouts are working, her report says.

“Notable growth was reported in Acadia, Bossier, East Baton Rouge, Iberia, Lafayette, Lafourche, Ouachita, Rapides, Tangipahoa and Vernon,” she said.

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Superintendent says center could train next era of skilled workers

December 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The school system recently opened Bayou Community Academy, Lafourche’s first charter school to operate with School Board blessing.

Matthews said her staff is also continuing to develop its K-12 virtual program, which targets students who would benefit from an alternative education and the nearly 500 children in the parish who are home-schooled. “There are some kids who brick-and-mortar schools don’t actually work for,” she said.

Land-purchase negotiations for the career center are nearly complete, she said. It will be built in Lockport, across the bayou from Rouses Supermarket.

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Virtual school an idea that really works

December 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Four years ago, I got involved with several other parents and educators from across Louisiana to try to charter the first statewide online public school, or what is known as a “virtual” school.

I was interested in this concept because as film producers, my wife and I often dreamed of having a school environment which gave our son more flexibility in his schedule so he could travel with us without getting behind in school. An online public school schedule, we reasoned, could almost be as flexible as our filmmaker schedule.

That is how I came to volunteer to help organize Louisiana Connections Academy, and this fall, thanks to the help of many parents across this state, we opened this school to serve 600 children in grades K-12. Our principal is Caroline Wood. I now serve as board chair.

My son, a sixth-grader, is enrolled and my wife serves as his “learning coach,” the in-home person who helps keep him accountable for his assignments and diligent in his study.

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