The issue has raised its ugly head once again at the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board: collective bargaining. (Can you say “teacher strikes?”) The unions must see a shot at a majority vote on this board and can’t help but make a power grab. Forget the children, parents and the public. The unions want to be the exclusive bargaining agent for all teachers and employees. Are our schools auto factories? Are our teachers now just better-dressed teamsters? I thought they wanted to be treated as professionals and paid accordingly? Well, does your doctor, lawyer, CPA or engineer belong to a union … and go on strike?
If some teachers choose to join a union, so be it. They can have their union representative at the school board meetings to raise whatever issues concern them. But that union rep only has one seat at the table, just like every other interested party—including taxpayers. Collective bargaining would give the union rep the ONLY seat at the table with the board, and leave you out of the picture, despite it involving your child, your money and your community school system. The union members all have a right to vote on their school board members. Let those elected officials represent them along with all other parents and taxpayers.
Can the board possibly think collective bargaining is going to fix our schools? After just getting out from under the court’s desegregation order, do they really want their hands tied again by collective bargaining? Does any board member think this is going to improve their image in the eyes of the public, inspire confidence and build support?
A warning to the board: Approving collective bargaining is a step backward into the past and could cost you business and public support.
National spotlight on La.
There are only three races for governor in the United States this year, so Louisiana is getting national attention. Last week, I found an article on the Bloomberg news wire, one in the New York Times and an interesting story in the Baltimore Sun. It is enlightening to see how our state is perceived from afar, a perception that is usually conveyed by the media. Check out these excerpts from an article by Kathleen Parker of the Baltimore Sun:
“… But hurricanes Katrina and Rita did more than just destroy homes and histories. They seem to have changed Louisiana’s personality. Where once cronyism and corruption were tolerated almost as local eccentricities, today they are viewed as the detritus of a benighted past. As voters prepare to elect a new governor and a large slate of legislators on Saturday, ethics is the new byword and brains may trump political brawn.
“The political emphasis post-Katrina isn’t so much ideological—Democrat vs. Republican—as it is reform vs. status quo. Leading the reform surge, as well as in the polls, is a young politician Huey Long never could have imagined. Bobby Jindal, the wiry and wired Republican son of Indian immigrants, doesn’t look like a Louisiana good ol’ boy and he doesn’t talk like one either ...
“At 36, he has a résumé that should place him closer to retirement than to yet another career. A Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Jindal was accepted to the medical and law schools of both Harvard and Yale (though he attended neither) ...”
And the article concludes with, “Being too smart hasn’t been plaguing Louisiana leadership lately. It couldn’t hurt to give brains a chance.”
Good news for Baton Rouge
More than 700 business owners, CEOs and managers were smiling after attending the Top 100 Luncheon held last week at the 25th annual BizTech Expo. They had just heard Loren Scott unveil his Louisiana Economic Outlook for 2008-2009. The news was very good for the Baton Rouge area and Louisiana overall.
Scott predicted about 15,000 new jobs over the next two years in Baton Rouge. He also noted that construction projects under way or planned total $5 billion. Since he began doing the Outlook 25 years ago, Scott said, that number has rarely reached $1 billion. The construction number in New Orleans is $15 billion—and might normally be $1 billion or $2 billion.
Overall, the state should surpass its pre-Katrina and Rita job total in 2008.
The I-10 and I-12 Corridor
Scott noted that many businesses are opting to locate on the Northshore or in Baton Rouge. He projected a 4.2% growth in Lafayette jobs over the next two years. All these areas, plus Lake Charles, are in the “hot” interstate corridor that runs from Texas to Mississippi. As noted in a study by Elliot Stonecipher of Shreveport-based Evets Management Services, one in three Louisianans now live in the corridor.
In recognition of this business activity, we announced in September that our company will launch a new four-color business magazine titled 10/12 (“ten-twelve”) which will cover “the Gulf South business corridor.” There will be a companion Web site at
We are excited about covering the development of this “220-mile linear city” and the people who make things happen in it. Send your news tips, ideas or suggestions to editor@1012corridor.com. Our first issue is planned for distribution in January 2008.
Congratulations to EBR schools There are some bright spots in our local school system that received national recognition recently. Glasgow Middle School, headed by Judy O'Dell, was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Glasgow was one of three schools named in Louisiana and the only public school among the three. Only 287 awards were given nationally. The award recognizes schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
In addition, 26 students from Baton Rouge Magnet High School (20) and McKinley High School (6) were named National Merit Semifinalists. There were also seven students from Baton Rouge High and one from McKinley named as National Achievement Semifinalists. Baton Rouge Magnet is headed by Principal Nan Greer and the McKinley High by Principal Armond Brown.
Kudos to these students, faculties and principals, and to Superintendent Placide and the board.
Enjoy this weekend
Just because it’s an open date for the Tigers, don’t complain there’s nothing to do. You can start this weekend dancing to the music of Hip Boot Joe at Live After Five at Galvez Plaza.
On Saturday, gather your co-workers or friends and join the Walk to Remember for Alzheimer Services. Registration starts at 8 a.m. on the LSU campus/Nicholson Drive extension (old front nine of the golf course). Visit BRhope.com for details.
Wrap up the weekend with your family, friends, a picnic basket and lawn chairs and come enjoy the sounds of Papa Grows Funk at Sunday in the Park. It happens from noon to 3 p.m. in Lafayette Park at the Shaw Center downtown. There will be food and beverage vendors on site as well.
For more choices, check out 225batonrouge.com.
Comments
Posted by carolejwhite on October 24, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
From Carole J. White, President, East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators (the local affiliate of the Louisiana Association of Educators and the National Education Association):
Your article is about fear.
Some people are afraid that if educators in EBR have collective bargaining rights, the teachers will go on strike.
Some people are afraid that if educators in EBR have collective bargaining rights, the people in power will lose power.
Some people are afraid that if educators in EBR have collective bargaining rights, educators will make unreasonable demands.
And…some people are afraid that if educators in EBR have collective bargaining rights, it might turn out to be a good thing.
So let’s clear the air.
Strikes.
Strikes are most likely to happen in non-bargaining situations, because bargaining allows a school board and its employees to sit down together to find agreement. Collective bargaining is a procedure that allows issues of concern to be addressed before frustration and lack of communication lead to strikes.
Power.
Power is the ability to get the job done----the ability to win. When the LSU Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on November 3, that will be a demonstration of power. When the EBRP school board, the administration, and our employees come together to tackle and solve the serious problems this system is dealing with, it will be a win for us all. Nobody loses----we’ll all win.
Unreasonable demands.
Those educators who have remained loyal to this system have not done so because they relish coping with the requisites of the No Child Left Behind act, which has set public schools across America up for failure. They have stayed because they care about our children. These soldiers in the frontline of the war on ignorance have been in the trenches. Therefore, they have first-hand, practical knowledge about curriculum development that meets the needs of our children, about instructional strategies that meet the needs of our children, about professional development that meets the needs of our employees, about student assessment that accurately reflects the progress of our children, and about effective means to close the achievement gap. It’s not unreasonable to hear their ideas----it’s just common sense.
And…what if collective bargaining should turn out to be “a good thing”?
There are individuals in this community whose agendas clash with the idea of collective bargaining. They’re the most fearful of all. They say,
“We’ve never done it that way before.”
“We don’t know what will happen if we try it.”
Being a member of the EBRP school board carries a mandate to act with courage, to be bold in leading this school system forward to meet our challenges and solve our problems. Voting to allow employees in this parish to hold an election for collective bargaining is the right thing to do.
Posted by carolejwhite on October 24, 2007 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
From Carole J. White, President, EBRPAE (affiliate of LAE/NEA):
It is uninformed to equate collective bargaining in a school system with the type of bargaining that takes place in the industrial workplace. In education, the expectation is that the bargaining process will be carried out by the representative association, administration, and school board members in good faith and in an atmosphere of cooperation.
Collective bargaining would strengthen the ability of the EBRP School System to recruit the best certified and highly-qualified educators. Today, EBR must compete not only with surrounding schools districts but also other states, for university graduates from a shrinking pool of applicants. We must face the fact that many new college graduates will come from states where collective bargaining exists, and they will expect to work for a system that allows bargaining for its employees.
Collective bargaining would strengthen the ability of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to retain our excellent educators. According to a report from the Academic Distinction Fund, entitled “Teaching Matters: Promoting Quality Instruction in East Baton Rouge Parish,” the “EBRP System has a high turnover rate, which means that there is a steady flow of teachers into and out of our schools.” In 2002, almost 20 percent of all EBRPSS teachers had three or fewer years of experience. Experience matters. Students with more experienced teachers do better----as measured by their scores on standardized tests----than their peers with less-experienced teachers.” Plainly, EBR is hemorrhaging experienced educators. It’s going to take more than money to get them to stay. It’s going to take listening to them and giving them a rightful place at the bargaining table.
Collective bargaining supports the goal of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System of improving student achievement. A study by the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future demonstrated clearly that student performance on standardized tests is “significantly better” in states with collective bargaining. Average student scores on the SAT exams were 43 points higher in places where the teachers belonged to bargaining units. Why is this? People in general----and that includes educators----who feel empowered tend to have higher morale on the job. Teachers are more personally invested in their work when they have a voice in what happens to their profession. Teacher morale and student achievement are related!
I am challenging you to take a risk, to engage in a new and different level of dialogue and open exchange with your employees. Our system is struggling. It is time that we use every tool at our disposal. Collective bargaining in one of those tools. Let’s not miss this opportunity!
Posted by bzan on October 25, 2007 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PLEASE keep the unions out. I am full of fear; fear that our schools will plummet further down the charts.
Posted by Julie_Baron_Sheffield on October 25, 2007 at 8:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, hooray for Glasgow, McKinley High, and BRMHS! But, we can do better. The accomplishments at these 3 schools are largely due to the academically-gifted students at these schools. Glasgow and McKinley High have gifted programs. BRMHS does not, but many gifted students opt to enroll there because they are turned off by inner-city McKinley High with its mixed gifted and regular ed population. This same problem occurs at the elementary and middle school level. Gifted sites have trouble competing with magnet sites because the magnets are dedicated (comprised entirely of students in the magnet program) whereas the gifted is fragmented and placed into several inner-city schools. We need to level the playing field and create dedicated gifted schools! This would greatly increase enrollment in gifted programs and allow more gifted kids to meet their full potential. I am on the board of the Baton Rouge Association of Gifted and Talented Students (BRAGTS) and we have taken up the campaign for dedicated gifted schools in Baton Rouge. Please join us at www.agts.net.
“Giftedness”, in the simplest terms, refers to high IQ (approx top 5%). Magnet programs generally have a particular art, technology, or academic focus, but entrance requirements are not as rigorous. Gifted students need a specialized education program to be appropriately challenged and, if they get it, they soar to incredible heights. Studies show that they need to be in an environment with other gifted students.
Many parents of gifted kids have fled the program and only die-hards like me continue to send their kids to the gifted program. Meanwhile, many identified gifted students enrolled in magnet and private schools are coasting along, not being challenged, and occasionally developing boredom-induced behavior problems.
I believe dedicated gifted schools would be hugely successful and would make Baton Rouge a very attractive place to live for the parents of these students. We may be only talking about the top 5% of students, but parents of gifted students are usually highly productive members of society (many are academics), so you'd think our city leaders would want that particular 5% to hang around.
Now that the desegregation plan is no longer in the way, this is entirely do-able. However, EBRPSS seem to prefer the current arrangement because the gifted students bring up the test scores for schools that might otherwise be deemed “academically unacceptable”. So, after years of being used as a desegregation tool, now the gifted students are being used again to mask failing school scores. This is a huge disservice not only to the gifted students, but also to students in those inner-city schools, who are not getting the extra help that they may need.
This is not a plan for re-segregation. Walk into any gifted classroom and see the diversity within that classroom. Academic giftedness transcends race, color, creed, religion, gender, and country of origin.
Posted by jabadie on October 25, 2007 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Gifted, Talented, and Scholastic Academy Programs in East Baton Rouge Parish are producing wonderful results. Students attending classes in these programs typically get excellent ACT and SAT scores as 7th graders participating in the Duke Talent Search and again as high school students preparing for college. During High School, many are academically excellerated beyond usual grade levels and are taking plenty of Advanced Placement, College Courses.
Currently, the program is fragmented during the elementary and middle school years. The numbers of students enrolled at self-contained sites are dropping rapidly. Pooling students at Dedicated Gifted School Sites would allow the students to share resources and certified gifted teachers. The EBR Parish school system needs more educational programs that work. The Gifted, Talented, and Scholastic Academy programs should be respected and allowed to grow. More students should have access to these programs!!
Posted by benjaminmom on October 26, 2007 at 1:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are indeed some very exciting possibilities facing Baton Rouge, especially with the current levels of job growth and new construction. However, Baton Rouge will never be truly competitive unless something is done about its education. Everyone "knows" that in order to get a "quality" education in Baton Rouge you have to afford up to $15,000 a year, and that's for one child. Yes, there are some bright spots in the EBRPSS, one of which is a diamond in the rough that is the Gifted Program. The potential of this program is limitless, but it has been neglected to a point where it is now largely fragmented throughout the Parish in schools in high crime areas whose very existence depends on the test scores of the small number of gifted children that have stuck with the program because it simply is the best program suited for their needs. Sadly, enrollment in this wonderful program is dwindling and students who regularly test into the 99th percentile in IQ and academic performance are seeking refuge in the magnet program and private schools, neither of which provide ample challenge for these amazing students. Imagine being a entering Kindergartner who reads and performs math operations at a third grade level sitting in a class where the focus is recognizing the letters of the alphabet and learning numbers.
The law quite simply states that children who are identified as Gifted are to receive "free appropriate education". The best way to ensure this is accomplished in through a dedicated Gifted school in East Baton Rouge Parish. This has been done for the magnet program and, as evidenced by this article, the program is thriving. This can happen for the Gifted program too. By placing the Gifted program in one place, students would be placed with their intellectual peers in a safe environment, resources could be provided by Gifted administration to one place rather than many, and certified Gifted teachers (many of whom are Gifted themselves) would also be able to pool their vast resources to the benefit of all Gifted students. Baton Rouge Magnet High's accomplishments are fantastic and definitely a shot in the arm for the EBRPSS. Imagine what a dedicated Gifted school could accomplish as well. These very special students could realize their potential and reach for the stars, as one third-grade Gifted class from Buchanan Elementary recently learned first hand after attending a space shuttle launch as the guests of NASA for being one of six classes to win a national competition. Please support this potentially phenomenal program, these amazing students, and the realization of a dedicated Gifted school.
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