Straight Up Conversation: Louisiana Schools Chief Paul Pastorek Reflects on RTT
by Frederick M. Hess • Aug 27, 2010 at 9:29 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
 Print |  Send |  RSS |
Less than a month ago, our earnest Secretary of Education described Louisiana as "leading the way" with data systems that monitor teacher preparation programs and student performance. Louisiana has been ranked a top-ten state for teacher policy, data systems, and charter schooling by the National Council on Teacher Quality, the Data Quality Campaign, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (And, for what it's worth, inmy new Fordham Institute study published this week, New Orleans graded out as the nation's most vibrant city when it comes to school reform.) All of this makes Louisiana's failure to win one of the dozen Race to the Top billets more than a little controversial. Louisiana's reformers are frustrated and wondering what to make of the results. Penny Dastugue, a member of the Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, said she was "absolutely shocked... We were confident that we would prevail in round two, and we had strengthened our application after the first round... There's no rational explanation... We're all shaking our heads."
On Wednesday, I chatted with Louisiana's heralded state chief Paul Pastorek about the results. The ever-
