Every child should have access to a high-quality education, ensuring every Louisiana resident has a chance to succeed. Louisiana cannot have a bright economic future without a workforce equipped with the skills and training necessary to compete in a 21st century economy. Revamping Louisiana’s educational system stands as an economic imperative—and a moral one too.
What: Sunday kicks off the annual National School Choice Week across America! All week long, the Pelican Institute will join others in Louisiana, and across the country, in celebrating the many types of schools and educational programs that exist for our kids. National School Choice Week highlights the importance of giving all parents the ability to select a...
Understanding the data is extremely important in evaluating trends associated with, and the performance of, Louisiana’s elementary and secondary education system. Despite spending the most per student in the southeast U.S., Louisiana consistently ranks at the bottom of the country in public school educational outcomes. While there has been incremental progress, it’s been very slow, and generations...
As the parent of a young teen, constantly trying to instill in him the value of an education and helping him responsibly navigate the Internet, this recent opinion piece in Entrepreneur struck a chord in me. As his dad and I attempt to nurture his developmental, spiritual, and academic growth, including his love of math, computing,...
This week another study was released on a state school choice program – this time, Ohio’s “EdChoice” scholarship programs, which helps about 55,000 low-income students and students attending low-performing public schools attend a participating private school. The project examined the impacts of the program on public school district enrollments, finances, and educational outcomes. Private school...
For nearly three decades, there’s been a movement underway to not only improve and modernize public education but also help parents in search of non-traditional educational options for their child’s education beyond homeschooling, which remains quite popular and continues to grow. The reasons are simple: (1) many believe that our current structure of education was...
This week the Louisiana Department of Education released the annual Fall 2022 Reading Report, which is a summary of the results of reading screeners for public school students enrolled in kindergarten through third grade. Louisiana state law mandates administration of the screener in the first 30 days of each school year and public reporting of...
Last week, all eyes were on the national TV networks’ blue and red maps as the 2022 midterm election results came in. For those looking for a big partisan shake-up, it turned out to be a dud. But for those watching with an eye toward school choice, the results were more than promising. Voters overwhelmingly...
Last week, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) shared a document with members of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) showing large sums of state and federal funding that is going unspent or has been declined by schools for critical high school programming. This is funding that could be paying for students to...
Originally published in The Center Square The U.S. Department of Education released 2022 results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which measures fourth and eighth grade students’ achievement in reading and math in individual states. Louisiana’s results, compared to results published in 2019 when the test was last given, were as follows: On...
There is much work to be done to improve our K-12 public schools in Louisiana. One of the most vital ways to enact change and improve our schools at the local level is for citizens and community leaders to ask the tough questions to those running for school board. That is why we recently released...
For the second time, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) deferred action on a proposal that would strengthen Louisiana’s flawed K-12 public school accountability and rating system. While that’s disappointing, the good news is that approval is imminent. For over a year, the board has been studying ways to more transparently report...
The Pelican Institute’s Vision for Education: Every Louisiana family should be able to choose the school or educational environment that best fits the needs of their child. Families have multiple options, including public schools, public charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling. Pelican works to expand these and other opportunities for Louisiana families. We have partnered...