Education

Another former Baton Rouge charter school official facing Louisiana ethics charges

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
1 hr ago

For the second time in a month, a former board member for a charter school network in Baton Rouge is accused of violating state ethics law when she accepted lucrative contracts from the school…

Livingston Parish School Board candidates discuss how to handle teacher pay, other issues

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD | Staff writer
7 hrs ago

Meet the Livingston Parish School Board District 2 candidates

Louisiana's 2020 Teacher of the Year sues state to stop Ten Commandments law

By PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
Updated 18 hrs ago

Louisiana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year is suing the state over a new law that requires public schools to post the Ten Commandments, arguing it makes teachers complicit in promoting religion and …

After gas leak, Shenandoah Elementary reopens without incident, fire official says

BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer
Oct 22, 2024

Shenandoah Elementary School was briefly evacuated Tuesday morning after a smell of gas was discovered.

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Louisiana public schools will learn by Nov. 15 if they must post Ten Commandments

By PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
Updated Oct 21, 2024

Louisiana public schools will soon learn whether they must comply with a new law requiring them to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom after a federal judge said Monday he would issue…

Louisiana's Ten Commandments law will have its day in court Monday. Here are the details.

By PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
Oct 20, 2024

Before Louisiana requires public schools to post the Ten Commandments, the state must convince a court that its controversial new mandate doesn’t run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

He was his university's SGA president 20 years ago. Now, he serves as the university's president.

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
Oct 19, 2024

In 2004, Martin Lemelle was elected as the student government president at Grambling State University. However, the institution has been a force in his life since birth, essentially.

Amid national teacher shortage, Southern schools lead other regions in filling jobs, data show

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer
Updated Oct 21, 2024

Amid a national teacher shortage, schools in the South filled vacant teaching positions at a higher rate this school year than other regions in the U.S., new data found.

Six school sites in Baton Rouge getting $2.3 million in energy efficiency tech

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 18, 2024

Thanks to a $2.3 million grant, four high schools in Baton Rouge are among six local school sites that will soon undergo energy makeovers to greatly reduce their utility bills.

LSU plans $107 million construction management building, announces $36.3 million in gifts

BY TIMOTHY BOONE | Business editor
Oct 18, 2024

LSU is planning a stand-alone building for its construction management department and says it has raised more than a third of the money needed for the $107 million project.

Baton Rouge school board OKs new ways to trim public comment in bid to shorten meetings

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 17, 2024

Despite a series of speakers opposing the move, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted unanimously Thursday to place new limits on when and how often members of the public can comment …

Baton Rouge School Board, Sito Narcisse wanted out of a 'Day of Hope' lawsuit. A judge said no.

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 16, 2024

In its first big test, a federal lawsuit filed in response to a controversial “Day of Hope” field trip in Baton Rouge remains on track after U.S. Judge Shelly Dick largely sided with the plain…

Fresh from marathon meetings, Baton Rouge school board pushes new ways to trim public comment

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 14, 2024

With a messy superintendent search fresh in their minds — one July meeting lasted nearly nine hours — the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is poised to place new limits on when and how oft…

Superintendent of Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge placed on leave, no reason given

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 14, 2024

Don Mayes, the superintendent of Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge for nearly 12 years, has been placed on leave, the school said in a letter to parents Monday.

France will keep sending teachers to Louisiana after officials extend partnership

By MARIE FAZIO | Staff writer
Oct 14, 2024

The state of Louisiana and the nation of France have extended their decades-old agreement to send French teachers to immersion schools across the state in an effort to preserve the long tradit…

Budget cuts could threaten Louisiana's early ed, dual enrollment programs, officials warn

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer
Oct 12, 2024

Potential state budget cuts could leave less money for early childhood education and threaten a popular program that lets high schoolers take college classes at a reduced price, top Louisiana …

East Baton Rouge school official accused of impersonating a police officer used to be one

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 12, 2024

Identifying himself as a reserve police officer, James Bell Jr. called Baton Rouge Police on a Friday afternoon in early September to report that he had just caught a man trying to steal wirin…

Student government leader encouraged student voters, brought safety and orgs together at Xavier

By MARGARET DELANEY | Staff writer
Oct 11, 2024

Dr. Cramin Wiltz II graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 2005. After his graduation with a degree in chemistry and a minor in biology, Wiltz received his doctorate o…

‘Kids are talking to each other.’ Teachers, students embrace Louisiana’s cellphone ban

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer
Oct 9, 2024

While planning a field trip to a student-athlete leadership conference in September, Kassie Binkley doubted that her high schoolers could make it through the day without their cellphones, as t…

State tests will be shorter for Louisiana students this year. Here are the changes.

By PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
Oct 9, 2024

Louisiana students are in for a pleasant surprise this spring: shorter state tests.

Louisiana education officials share plans to improve student reading, math, attendance

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer
Updated Oct 8, 2024

Louisiana’s top education officials laid out ambitious goals for improving the state’s schools Monday, including raising test scores and reducing absenteeism, and announced a statewide tour to…

As Louisiana colleges brace for budget cuts, a student leader sounds the alarm

By MARIE FAZIO | Staff writer
Oct 7, 2024

Kennedy Orr, a senior at Southern University, has seen firsthand what insufficient funding can do to a public university. A dwindling number of professors in her department offer core courses …

Prepared to lead: How his time as ULM's student government president set him on a path to success

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Oct 7, 2024

Victor Cato attributes his passion for community engagement and drive for equality to his time at the University of Louisiana-Monroe as student government association president.

20 years later, Loyola SGA president Martina Mills Smith is a veterans law judge in DC

BY SERENA PUANG | Staff writer
Oct 6, 2024

Martina Mills Smith is now a veterans law judge who holds hearings about disability benefits in Washington D.C.

Strategy on closing Baton Rouge schools takes back seat to updating district strategic plan

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 5, 2024

After years of intermittent talk that led to little action, leaders of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, meeting at an all-day retreat Saturday, broached anew the fraught topic of clo…

Mae Mouk Christie's stint as Centenary's SGA president helped her become a vicar in England

BY ROBIN MILLER | Staff writer
Oct 5, 2024

If Mae Elizabeth Mouk Christie hadn't pursued a career in law in Washington, D.C., would she be the vicar of All Saints Church in London's Tooting district?

Which Baton Rouge schools could close? Board will meet this weekend to talk strategy

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 4, 2024

For the first time since he took over as superintendent in late July, LaMont Cole is holding a retreat this Saturday with his bosses on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to discuss scho…

Once on the chopping block, remote learning company poised to expand Baton Rouge presence

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Oct 4, 2024

A year after being put on the chopping block, an Austin-based company not only continues to supply virtual teachers to hard-to-staff Baton Rouge public schools, but is adding more schools.