Tag: Louisiana education

Louisiana Department of Education Announces Graduates receiving TOPS Scholarships is at an All Time High

 

The Louisiana Department of Education released this article on April 10 stating that the number of Louisiana graduates receiving the academic TOPS scholarship is at an all-time high. The award, also known as Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), has been awarded to more than 19,200 graduates in the Class of 2017, up from 18,373 in 2016 and 16,289 in 2012.

According to the Louisiana Department of Education, TOPS is a program of state scholarships for Louisiana residents who attend either one of the Louisiana public colleges and universities, schools that are a part of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Louisiana-approved proprietary and cosmetology schools, or institutions that are a part of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. There are four levels of TOPS awards, based on students’ American College Test (ACT) scores, grade-point averages and post-secondary pursuits. Those levels include Honors, Performance, Opportunity and Tech.

For more information on the TOPS increase in 2017, click here.

Louisiana’s Report Card System Draws National Praise

According to the Louisiana Department of Education, “Louisiana’s revamped report card system and a set of its key education initiatives have earned national praise from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). In recent weeks, the national non-profit organization has published two separate reports that hold up Louisiana as an exemplar for equipping families and educators with the tools and resources needed to promote school quality and ensure equity for all children.”

“Today, the national organization released “A School Finder to Empower: Case Study of Louisiana’s New School Report Card,” which details how Louisiana developed and implemented reporting tools to better meet the needs of families and educators, and outlines lessons learned to help other states that are redesigning their own accountability systems.”

For more information on the new report card system, click here.

Louisiana Awards $1.5 Million to Improve Early Childhood Education

 

Louisiana is doing big things to make a difference in the lives of their youth. Starting at the bottom, the Louisiana Department of Education awarded a $1.5 million grant funding the improvement of early childhood education and its quality. The eight communities affected by this grant include: Calcasieu, Concordia, Iberville, Jefferson, Orleans, Rapides, St. John the Baptist, and Tangipahoa parishes.

The Department of Education stated on their website, “The grant, a supplement to the federal Preschool Development Grant, will provide teachers at low-performing sites in eight communities with professional development designed to strengthen teacher-child interactions and classroom instruction and to improve kindergarten readiness.”

For more information on the funding, you can read the full article here.

Louisiana Department of Education Graduation Checklist

 

As we get close to the end of the school year for thousands of Louisiana seniors, the Louisiana Department of Education has a special section on their website that you can find here that will help seniors apply for financial aid. As stated on their website, “Most Louisiana high school graduates are eligible for some form of merit- or need-based financial aid. Students can apply for state and federal financial aid by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be used at four-year universities, two-year community colleges, and technical training programs. The FAFSA is used to determine the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a postsecondary institution, and the results of the FAFSA are used in determining student grants, work study, and educational loan amounts.”

If you are a senior and interested in finding out if you are eligible for financial aid, be sure to take a look at all you need to know about applying right here.

New Orleans Educators get $13 million grant to recruit 900 teachers by 2020

 

Nola.com has recently released this article which discusses the $13 million grant that has been awarded to two New Orleans universities and four nonprofits in an effort to recruit and train 900 diverse teachers for Louisiana by 2020. As stated in the article, “The U.S. Education Department’s Supporting Effective Educator Development Program grant will fund the task set forth by Xavier University and Loyola University, according to school officials Monday morning (Nov. 13) at Xavier’s campus. The schools will be collaborating with Teach For America Greater New Orleans, teach NOLA, Relay Graduate School of Education, and New Schools for New Orleans to address teacher pipeline challenges in the city.”

For more information on why this grant was given and where the money will be spent, click here.

Eight Louisiana Schools Nationally Recognized for Student Achievement

 

In this recent article, which was published on the Louisiana Department of Education website, eight Louisiana schools are nationally recognized for student achievement. The article states that these students are “nationally recognized for exceptional student performance or for closing the achievement gap among historically disadvantaged students. Two schools have been named National Title I Distinguished Schools by the National Title I Association, and six schools have been nominated by the state to receive 2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools awards from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).”

To learn more about  National Title I Distinguished School Program, click here.

To learn more about the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, click here.