What’s Wrong with Education in Louisiana and Some Ideas On How to Fix it
FLIP THE
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
( BESE)
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
( BESE)
Louisiana Voters,
A few months ago I had a meeting with Lane Grigsby about my candidacy for BESE.
For those of you who don’t know, Grigsby is one of the chief funders of the education reform movement in Louisiana. Investigative journalist Lee Zurik did a multi-segment story on corruption in Louisiana politics called Louisiana Purchased, and he discovered that Grigsby, owner of Cajun Industries and one of the chief supporters of LABI (the pro-privatization business lobby) was one of the most prolific funders of political candidates in Louisiana and was able to bypass many of the individual spending limits by having family members, PACs he formed, and as many as 17 companies he owned or controlled donate the maximum allowable amount to candidates he was supporting.
I wasn’t seeking funding. I was seeking some understanding of why he was getting involved in education and why he held the stands and beliefs he did. (Grigsby apparently didn’t know who I was which is why he agreed to meet with me. I knew I was diametrically opposed to him on almost every issue.)
While we disagreed on almost everything in our meeting, Lane brought up a very important point that I was overlooking.
“Besides kicking out John White, what are you actually going to do to improve education in Louisiana?”
My focus had been on fighting the BESE board, LDOE, and returning ownership of the public education system to the people of Louisiana. I hadn’t really considered what I would do if I was placed in a position where I could actually work to improve things!
For the past two months I have been doing much less talking and writing and much more listening and analyzing. This is probably not going to win me more votes, but getting elected is not really the most important thing, is it? Improving our education system and the outcomes of our children and thus the future of our people and our state is a much more important long-term goal.
Win or lose the upcoming election, I believe I’ve already accomplished my short-term mission of showing how ordinary people can get involved with their government to try and make things better.
But let’s get back to the whole improving education part.
Despite all the “reforms” Louisiana has undertaken over the past decade our outcomes really haven’t improved all the much, now have they?
10 years ago Louisiana was in a 5 way tie for 44th place (out of 52 States + DC + territories) on the NAEP exam for 4th grade Mathematics. (NAEP is a long term national test used for comparing states to each other and to themselves longitudinally.
For a snapshot of what this lack of growth looks like over time, refer to the chart below. Notice how the gap between Louisiana and the rest of the country has only widened under the current administration and their misguided policies.
In 2013, Louisiana was just 2 tenths of one point (out of 500), ahead of Mississippi. We’ve actually lost a lot of ground compared to other states, despite the continuous claims of success issued by Lousiana’s state Education Board, Governor Jindal – now finishing up the 8th year of his term consecutive terms and running for President, and the Louisiana What’s Wrong with Education in Louisiana and Some Ideas On How to Fix it | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: