Three Louisiana Educators Receive Nationally-Acclaimed Milken Award

It was recently announced by the Louisiana Department of Education via this news release that educators from Ascension, West Baton Rouge, and Lafayette Parish have each received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award.

The $25,000 Milken Educator Award was awarded by Milken Educator Awards Founder Lowell Milken and Louisiana Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley to Ascension Public Schools first-grade teacher Elise Frederic, West Baton Rouge Schools fifth-grade teacher Dereka Duncan, and Lafayette Parish third-grade teacher Corrie Campbell. The issuing of these awards is often kept such a close-held secret that recipients do not know that they are in the running for the award until they are visited by the Superintendent and Milken himself.

By design, Milken Educator Awards are bestowed upon early-to-mid career educators for what these teachers have already achieved early on in their careers and “for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities inherent in the Award. In education circles, the Milken Educator Award is known as an immensely high honor, akin to the Academy Awards, as the honor is often referred to as the “Oscars of Teaching.” Being selected for such an award is meant to both “inspire and uplift with the unique stories of educators making a profound difference for students, colleagues, and communities.

Elise Frederic serves as an accomplished first-grade teacher at Lakeside Primary School in Prairieville, Louisiana, and she is described as continually helping “each child set daily goals and pair[ing] students strategically to address their specific needs. Her laser focus on literacy delivers in spades.” In the 2021-2022 School year, more than 90% of Frederic’s students had achieved mastery on district benchmark assessments in English and 70% had achieved mastery in Math.

Lowell Milken commented on Elise Frederic’s success by saying, “virtually all people can name at least one teacher who has had an extraordinary impact on their lives. Elise Frederic is that kind of foundational teacher whose care and compassion have helped shape young learners into future leaders. Equally impressive, Elise is an exceptional instructional role model for her peers in the school, district and broader community.”

Dereka Duncan is a well-regarded fifth-grade science teacher at Cohn Elementary School, and she has reportedly worked on “revamping the fifth grade reading curriculum to align with Louisiana ELA standards.” Because of this commitment, “Cohn has reached an all-time high progress index of 90%, resulting in an A on the growth index score for the first time.”

Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley said the following about Dereka Duncan: “Students do more than learn science in Dereka Duncan’s class, they participate in experiences that allow them to see themselves as scientists, engineers, and researchers. She is the type of transformational educator who will help move our state forward.

Corrie Campbell passionately teaches both English Language Arts and Social Studies at Green T. Lindon Elementary School in Lafayette Parish. According to LDOE, at Campbell’s previous school in New Iberia Parish, “Campbell created a fourth-grade writing challenge based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Students examined characters’ reactions when their rights were threatened, then shared their work with peers for feedback. The writing unit served as an extended lead-up to the Newberry Award writing contest in fifth grade.”

Dr. Brumley commented by saying, “Corrie Campbell has a hands-on approach to teaching that’s resulted in remarkable student growth and achievement. Not only does she focus on reaching every child, but she also serves as a mentor to her colleagues.”

Nationwide, there were up to 40 elementary educators awarded a Milken Educator Award this season. The Milken Awards Initiative has awarded more than $73 million in individual awards and more than $140 million in funding since 1987.

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Louisiana Teacher Retention on the Rise According to Louisiana Educator Workforce Report

It was recently revealed by the 2021-2022 Educator Workforce Snapshot that more teachers in Louisiana are choosing to remain in the education profession and that the percentage of certified educators is trending upwards, according to this news release from the Louisiana Department of Education.  Teacher retention has been a topic of conversation for quite some time so this report is promising for the state’s education system.

The LDOE recently released the 2021-2022 Educator Workforce Snapshot, which is a statistical snapshot that provides an overview of “workforce data” for Louisiana’s 1394 traditional public schools. The snapshot was obtained using data from the End-of-Year (EOY) data from the recently concluded 2021-2022 school year. LDOE describes the purpose of the data “is to communicate annual workforce data and trends to stakeholders and to support decision making for statewide improvements regarding recruitment and retention.”

The Educator Workforce Snapshot provided a wide array of updates and data on both teachers and students in the 2021-2022 school year, but the following were pointed out as being the main highlights of the report: Louisiana’s overall teacher retention, certified teacher percentage, and diversity of teacher workforce had increases two points a piece. Overall teacher retention is now at 86%, whereas first-year teacher retention has increased five points to 83%. The percentage of Louisiana teachers who are certified had increased to 69% of all teachers, and the diversity rate of the state’s teacher workforce has increased to 29%.

With this upward trend in teacher retention across the state for both new and veteran teachers, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley commented by saying, “this is an enlightening report that shows Louisiana’s comprehensive recruitment and retention plan is working. Even with this early progress, we must remain laser-focused. Every educator deserves quality pay, strong leadership, and to be valued as professionals. This encouraging data is early proof of what can happen when you listen to teachers and create an environment where their voice matters.”

Additionally, the 2021-2022 Educator Workforce Snapshot also revealed that the average teacher salary in Louisiana has increased by $1,268 to $52,174. Along with compensation information for teachers, assistant principals, and principals, the Snapshot also had demographic information pertaining to ethnicity and gender listed for teachers as well as students. The certification date for teachers was further classified by whether or not the certified or uncertified teachers were teaching in a subject with a high-stakes state assessment, in a school evaluated with a high or low letter grade, and by subject area.

Louisiana has put a lot of effort towards its comprehensive recruitment and retention in recent history. Firstly, the past year saw a pay increase for teachers and support staff, as teachers saw a $1,500 pay increase approved and support staff saw a $750 increase in salary. Additionally, veteran teachers applying to be a Mentor Teacher for the school year were given a $2000 stipend for their additional responsibility.

Other actions taken to increase teacher recruitment and retention were that LDOE had recently collaborated on new legislation that allows for professionals with a master’s degree in any field to be able to enter the classroom as a teacher. Also, the 2022 Regular Legislative Session established the Geaux Teach Fund, which allocated $5 million for the purpose of awarding scholarships to high school students who are a part of a teacher preparation program.

Also, LDOE created the first Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council, which saw 22 educators chosen from nearly 900 applications to serve on the inaugural council. The council will consist of a cohort of educators who will meet with Dr. Brumley once a quarter to share their feedback on current education initiatives and to offer insight on how Louisiana can help to improve student outcomes.

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Nicholls Recognizes Recipients of Grants at Spring 2023 Convocation

Nicholls State University recently held its Spring 2023 Convocation in order to recognize grant winners, faculty, and staff for their hard work throughout the 2022 academic school year. At the  Spring 2023 Convocation, Nicholls recognized the top 10 grants award winners for the funding they had received in 2022, according to this news release from the school.

The Spring 2023 Convocation opened with opening remarks from Nicholls President Dr. Jay Clune and Dr. Sue Westbrook, who is the Nicholls State University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. University President Dr. Jay Clune spoke about his outlook for the Spring 2023 semester by saying, “this semester, we look forward to not only changing the lives of the students we teach, mentor, and care for today but the lives of their children and the generations that will follow them.”

The ceremony awarded the ten faculty and staff members who received the most grant money for 2022. When collectively added together, these ten grant recipients represented over $8 million in grant awards for both programmatic support and research.

Nicholls State University awarded the following for being the top ten grant recipients for the funding they received in 2022: Dr. John Lajaunie (Bayou Region Incubator), Dr. John Doucet (Nicholls Coastal Center and College of Sciences and Technology), Zerica Washington (Nicholls Family Service Center), Dr. Jonathan Willis (Nicholls Department of Biological Sciences), Katie Lasserre (Little Colonels Academy), Dr. Balaji Ramachandran (Nicholls Department of Applied Sciences), Dr. Kimberly Reynolds (Department of Psychology and Louisiana Child Welfare Training Academy), Dr. Allyse Ferrara (Department of Biological Sciences), Dr. Darcey Wayment (Department of Chemistry), and Gina Bergeron (Nicholls Family Service Center).

Debi Benoit is the Director of Research and Sponsored Programs at Nicholls, and she spoke about the top ten grant award winners by saying, “rigorous academic research and creative scholarship is time-consuming, requires great attention to detail, strong adherence to the standards and principles of your discipline, and takes substantial persistence to complete. For that reason, Nicholls has initiated the annual Grantsmanship Award as a means to celebrate and recognize ten outstanding faculty or staff who obtained the largest funding in the past year. This year’s 10 recipients represent over $8 million in awards for both research and programmatic support.”

The grants awarded by Nicholls State University were made possible by direct support from alumni, private foundations, parents, corporations, and organizations; additionally, the grant funds are allocated by Nicholls’s Office of University Development. In order to provide financial support for Nicholls State University, The Office of University Development plans and executes annual fund campaigns, capital campaigns, endowments, planned giving initiatives, and other types of fund-raising activities.

Nicholls’s Spring 2023 Convocation also saw five professors and assistant professors awarded the Academic Affairs Award for Teaching Excellence. These five awardees were: Dr. John Lajaunie, Dr. Chantrelle Varnado-Johnson, Dr. Jason Ladd, Mrs. Jeanne Chaisson, and Dr. Himanshu Verma.

Additionally, the Student Affairs “Apple” Awards were given out to five staff members. These awards were for “Outstanding Faculty Advisor of a Student Organization,” “Outstanding Faculty Mentor,” “Outstanding Faculty Support for Student Activities,” and “Outstanding Faculty Merit Award.”

The ceremony also featured the introduction of a new program that is designed to help Nicholls State Universitysupport its students, communicate important information throughout the school year, and answer student questions. Renee Hicks, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Access, and Success, announced the implementation of Nicholls State University + EdSights. The program was described as being “available to students 24/7 to answer any questions about Nicholls. The program can help the university support students, answer their questions and communicate important information throughout the school year creating an avenue for student feedback and a virtual community.”

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Improvement Shown on State’s Fall Reading Report

Reading scores are up in grades 1-3 across the state of Louisiana. Recently, the Louisiana Department of Education released its Fall 2022 Reading Report, showing how public school students in grades K-3 had scored on their annual literacy screener. According to the news release from LDOE, Louisiana’s overall score improved, and students in grades 1-3 showed growth for the second consecutive year. In fact, this year’s third-graders earned their highest score since 2018.

Dr. Cade Brumley, the Louisiana Superintendent of Education, offered words of ongoing encouragement by saying, “it’s good to see the continued reading progress for our students. Ensuring children can read must remain a fundamental priority in every school across our state.”

LDOE’s report, titled The Fall 2022 Reading Report, includes state, school system, and individual school data for public school students in grades K-3. School Systems are able to select from four research-based screening assessments to administer to their students, who will take this literacy screener within the first 30 days of a new school year. At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year in August, the state adopted Louisiana’s first K-2 accountability plan, which included a uniform literacy screener for students in the early grades of their education.

Although the scores for students in grades 1-3 have increased for the second year in a row, the scores for students entering kindergarten have declined. These literacy screeners are administered to students within the first 30 days of a new school year, and they are able to capture a snapshot of a child’s reading ability as they enter into a new grade. Teachers then develop specific reading plans and alter instruction based on student scores to help them become proficient in reading by the end of their third-grade year.

Because Louisiana students entering kindergarten did not increase their reading scores from previous years, this is seen as the latest addition to data indicating the continued progress of Louisiana students following the unprecedented classroom disruptions that were caused by multiple hurricanes and the pandemic.

Earlier this semester, Louisiana’s statewide performance scores were released, and it indicated that the state’s scores were returning to a pre-pandemic level. This was in addition to the Nation’s Report Card being released in October, where it was indicated that Louisiana students had avoided some of the most dramatic learning losses seen across the nation. Lastly, when the LDOE released 2021-2022 LEAP scores this past August, it was shown that Mastery rates had improved in ELA and math for students in grades 3-8.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jenna Chaisson spoke about the pacing of the state’s comprehensive literacy plan by saying, “Louisiana’s Comprehensive Literacy Plan is building momentum across the state, and we are beginning to see the impact of this foundational shift in how we teach children to read. Our youngest learners were the most impacted by the disruptions of the past few years. We have the support in place to keep our students in grades 1-3 on the right track and to accelerate the progress for our new kindergarten children.”

Both Louisiana law and policy from the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) require that school systems in the state administer what’s known as a literary screener no later than thirty days after the beginning of a school year to all students in kindergarten, first, second, and third grade. This annual fall reading screening is seen as a vital tool for ensuring that all students are on the right track to becoming proficient readers by the end of their third-grade year. School systems are able to choose among four research-based screening assessments, each of which measures a particular skill or skills that are typically predictive of later reading success. The skills build upon each other from one grade level to the next and are appropriately matched to children’s ages and developmental stages.

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LDOE Provides Tutoring Vouchers to Help Childhood Literacy

It was recently announced that thousands of Louisiana families will receive $1,000 tutoring vouchers in order to help children learn to read, according to this news release from the Louisiana Department of Education.

The launch of LDOE’s Steve Carter Literacy Tutoring Program entails that Louisiana families with children in kindergarten through fifth grade will be connected with high-quality literacy tutors. An online portal has been created so that Louisiana families can learn more about the tutoring vouchers, the program, and even sign up to be notified via email about when the new program will accept student registration later this year.

Created in honor of the late Baton Rouge State Representative Steve Carter, the Steve Carter Literacy Tutoring Program is the result of Act 415 of the 2021 Legislative Session (RS 17:4032.1). As part of the $40 million investment by the Louisiana Department of Education, state education leaders will be able to implement this program as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat Louisiana’s literacy crisis.

Jenna Chaisson, the Deputy Superintendent, expects the program’s investment will bridge Louisiana’s literacy gap. She commented by saying, “the Louisiana Department of Education has invested $40 million dollars to fund the program as part of the state’s comprehensive strategy to combat Louisiana’s literacy crisis.”

Currently, school systems in Louisiana are identifying students who meet eligibility requirements and notifying families accordingly. Essentially, students in grades K-3 are eligible if they scored below proficient on their beginning-of-year screener, and students in grades 4-5 are eligible if they scored below Mastery in ELA on the Spring 2022 LEAP assessment. LDOE directs any parents who are unsure of their child’s eligibility to contact their school for additional information; alternatively, they can email LouisianaLiteracy@la.gov.

New Orleans Representative Jason Hughes reflected on Louisiana’s national standings as seen in the recently-released NAEP scores by saying, “a  few weeks ago when the Nape scores across the nation were released Louisiana showed the most growth in the nation amongst 4th graders with respect to reading. So we are on the right track but we have to use every tool out of the toolbox.”

The Steve Carter Literacy Tutoring Program enables students to get more individualized attention from certified teaching professionals who have been approved by the Louisiana Department of Education. Once the program’s student registration opens, families will be able to utilize the tutoring program’s “one-stop shop” for selecting, vetting, and approving of qualified tutoring providers. Families will register their students with the initiative via an easy-to-use quality assurance portal, which is at http://www.louisianatutoringinitiative.com. In fact, in certain cases, a child’s school system may be a tutoring provider, but otherwise, the child’s school system will provide a tutor from its approved list of tutors.

Tutoring appointments are set to be scheduled between the parent/guardian and tutor and may take place at a mutually agreed upon location which can be a physical or virtual location, according to preference. Multi-lingual tutorswill also be available to accommodate students who do not speak English as a primary language.

Dr. Cade Brumley, the Louisiana State Superintendent, commented on the tutoring vouchers by saying, “this voucher is another tool in the toolbox to help kids learn to read. For individualized tutoring, it would cover about 25 sessions over the course of the year. If they want small group tutoring with a group up to 3 students they would be able to receive 35 sessions over the course of the year. Steve Carter believed in helping kids – that’s what this program does. ”

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Grant Awarded to Nicholls for New Engineering Technology Program

In order to create a brand-new degree program in the field of engineering, Nicholls State University has been awarded a $1.8 million grant, according to this press release from the school. As an integral part of the South Louisiana H2theFuture Energy Transformation Coalition, Nicholls will offer students the Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology and thus provide career-ready training for students to join the emerging clean energy workforce in the state.

H2theFuture, a 25-organization large partnership of institutions and businesses across South Louisiana, of which Nicholls is a member, has been awarded a $50 million federal grant by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).

Greater New Orleans Development Foundation and its affiliate, Greater New Orleans, Inc., are leading the H2theFuture project. This project will create jobs in Louisiana by implementing a clean hydrogen cluster strategy that is designed to lower carbon emissions in the South Louisiana industrial corridor.

Nicholls University is set to develop a new engineering technology curriculum that will be focused on serving the needs of the generation and delivery of new energy in South Louisiana. As a result, the school will be supporting incumbent, dislocated, and fresh workers that have emerged from Hurricane Ida, restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the oilfield downturn.

Dr. John Doucet is the Dean of the College of Sciences and Technology as well as the Director of Coastal Initiatives and Project Leader. Dr. Doucet spoke about the grant by saying, “t​he H2theFuture grant will fund a brand new engineering technology degree program at Nicholls focused on preparing students for the emerging renewable energy industry in Louisiana. With this funding, Nicholls will be providing high-quality engineering technologists to satisfy workforce needs as well as preparing our students for high-paying technical jobs and careers.”

Multiple of Nicholls’ advisors from the energy and engineering industry have indicated that this type of program’s produced graduates will be some of the most employable in the future. Nicholls’ collaborative degree program will supply its students not only with project-based electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineering skills, but they will also be able to coordinate construction projects, conduct building and equipment inspections, and use unmanned aerial vehicles for data collection.

Recently, other non-industry partners have supported Nicholls State University in the development of its Coastal Center, which is a research and education center that will be focused on science-based solutions to problems in coastal areas and estuaries.

Because Louisiana has the highest per-capita use of industrial H2 in the United States, as well as other factors, the state may be the best choice for a clean hydrogen cluster. Some of the state’s other advantages include it having the densest pipeline system in the country as well as the largest hydrogen system that stretches over 700-miles from Galveston Bay in Texas to New Orleans. Additionally, Louisiana is home to the second-largest port complex in the entire Western Hemisphere.

The state also has the fourth-largest offshore wind energy potential in America. Lastly, outside of Louisiana partnering with various universities that are skilled in energy training, the state is also home to major private sector industrial companies that are already on the frontlines of the hydrogen revolution, such as DOW, Shell, and CF Industries.

Nicholls President Dr. Jay Clune commented on the University’s new program made possible by their being a part of the South Louisiana H2theFuture Energy Transformation Coalition by saying, “we are proud to be a member of the H2theFuture initiative and so appreciative of this generous grant. Engineering Technology is a field in demand in our service region, and this will provide the opportunity to earn a degree at Nicholls for these ever-important jobs.”

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