Your Mail 1-6: Education agenda harming our children

For six years, public education in Louisiana has been under attack from education reform groups that helped former Gov. Bobby Jindal forward his education reform agenda.

Though their tactics are questionable, some of these groups have the honest goal of helping poor and disadvantaged children. Others wish only to dismantle public education in favor of privatization. In an unfortunate unholy union, these groups have successfully forwarded the agenda by implementing inappropriate standards that “raise expectations” and assessments that measure the inability of students to achieve their predetermined goal. When scores are bad, teachers are made into villains, schools are labeled as failures and, through a rigid set of policies backed by legislation, opportunities for school closures increase and charter schools replace them.

On , Dec. 6, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) considered renewal/revocation of charters for three schools that performed poorly and were placed on probation. Following policy, Supt. John White recommended the closure of two schools. BESE agreed. Against policy, White recommended an extension of the probationary period for LA Key Academy, which serves a very specialized group of students with dyslexia. BESE didn’t like the recommendation against policy, nor did the reform groups.

LA Key Academy provides interventions, supports and coping strategies to students in the classroom by employing a highly trained staff and research based curriculum. The students at this school experience great success and are thriving; however, these accommodations are not provided for the state assessment, resulting in failing scores. These are the very students that education reformers have claimed to have the goal of serving, yet they favor closing the school to preserve the invalid accountability system. It is time that parents, teachers, schools and districts stand up to the ill-conceived agenda that is harming our children.

Ganey Arsement, Educate Louisiana

Lake Charles