News

To Superintendent Stilley and Board Members:

My team and I had a meeting with Mr. Genco on Thursday morning. We appreciated the opportunity to meet with him and share our survey results and some of our concerns about the Covid-19 safety measures for our schools.

It is my understanding that this information was shared with Ms. Stilley who is going ahead with the soft start on August 12 as planned. We, however, respectfully disagree with that decision to move forward with the plan. Our disagreement is based on our concern for the safety and health of our students, employees, families, and our communities.

We made a commitment to our members to share the collected data with you. Attached is the survey results with comments

To Superintendent Stilley and Board Members:

The following are questions and concerns that our members have expressed to us. From over 150 questions collected we have selected the top 12 for your consideration. You may or may not have been presented these already, but we find these to be extremely important to be considered before children arrive in the buildings.

1. Are all classrooms and school areas of every school fully ventilated? Before schools open, will the school district obtain certification from a company that they are properly ventilated? Mold and dust accumulate on ceiling vents in offices and classrooms. Will the AC vents be cleaned to remove dust and mold and possible trapped Covid virus particles on a regular basis?
2. Do all classrooms allow for proper safe social distancing? Are the classrooms big enough to accommodate 6ft? How are guidelines going to be handled for social distancing in hallways during transitions (For example- in hallways will tape be used to mark pathways and in classrooms will 6 feet areas be marked off as well.)
3. Due to excessive and ongoing student abuse of bathroom facilities our school bathrooms have

PPE FOR LFT MEMBERS

DON’T FORFEIT OUR FUTURE: PASS THE HEROES ACT

Today is the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week!

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

Here’s a damning report from Education Week blogger Marc Tucker that rings true in Louisiana as well as many other states: “From the beginning, the leaders of our state education systems have invited testing experts to help them set the cut points for passing or not passing the state tests.  They listen gravely to the advice of the experts, then ask them how many students will fail at the recommended cut point and set a new one at a point that is politically tolerable.”

Tucker writes as the Nation’s Report Card’s governing board sets out to write new proficiency standards. He is president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, and he believes that current NAEP standards do not align to real-world college and career readiness. That, he says, must change.

In the last two election cycles, out-of-state billionaires, hedge fund managers and school privatizers have poured millions of dollars into Louisiana school elections.

Louisiana is one of more than 30 states to be graded “F” on our support for public education in a new report from the Network for Public Education and the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

“Grading the States: A Report Card on Our Nation’s Commitment to Public Schools,” tracks the growth of private, for-profit charter and voucher schools that divert funding from public schools.

The Legislature passed a budget: Now it's up to us to fight for our children, our schools, and our profession!

The war on teacher unions continues: We care. We fight. We show up.

Judging by the reaction from Louisiana’s biggest business lobby, you might think that a recent Supreme Court decision about public sector unions will have a major impact in our state.

It won’t. But that’s not stopping big business from using the decision to attack the LFT and other unions in our state. Here are the facts.