Like the mythological phoenix rising from the ashes, attacks on our public retirement systems are once again making news. At the request of Speaker of the House Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown), the joint Senate and House Committees on Retirement are meeting to discuss “reforming” the retirement incomes of teachers, school employees and other public servants.

Official complaints filed over mistreatment of teachers

 (Baton Rouge – October 1, 2009) A company that recruited foreign teachers to work in Louisiana schools is guilty of cheating those teachers out of thousands of dollars and holding them in virtual servitude, according to complaints presented to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers by international educators.

Study says virtual charters are suspect for both financial and student performance reasons.

(Baton Rouge – September 16, 2009) Considering the problems plaguing virtual or cyber schools in other states, Louisiana should proceed carefully before granting charters to schools that exist mainly on the Internet, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

Blue Ribbon consultant:  “Getting a degree is not related to student achievement.”

(Baton Rouge – September 12, 2009) If attracting and keeping the best teachers in our public schools is the goal of the state’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Educational Excellence, some information given to the panel on Thursday would send our state in the wrong direction, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

(Baton Rouge – August 10, 2009) The state’s largest education organization is asking Governor Bobby Jindal to step in and mediate the ongoing dispute between State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek and some advocates for public education.

(Baton Rouge – June 3, 2009) By a five vote margin, the House of Representatives on Tuesday turned down a bill that, while touted as school board reform, was widely opposed by educators because it would have eroded a system of checks-and-balances between school boards and school superintendents.

Baton Rouge teachers, and their colleagues around the state, won a big victory in court last week. For years, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board has required teachers and school employees who were injured on the job to submit to a drug test.

Louisiana's elementary and secondary schools are in deplorable condition - an estimate by the American Federation of Teachers pegs the cost of needed repairs and new construction at some $7.3 billion.

Two bills working their way through the legislature this year provide an answer to the problem. SB 90 by Sen. Cheryl Gray Evans (D-New Orleans) and HB 689 by Rep. Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans) would set up and fund the Louisiana Statewide Education Facilities Authority.

Join thousands of educators, students and friends of our schools, colleges and universities in mourning for public education on the first day of the legislative session.

Wear something black to school or work on Monday, April 27!

An editorial in last Friday's Advocate quoted State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek as saying, “Teaching to the test is a good thing, because what students need to learn is on the test.”

That comment raises some eyebrows at the LFT office - we felt that most teachers believe teaching to the test is not the best way to impart knowledge, develop critical thinking skills and imbue in students a lifelong ambition to learn.

Overwhelmingly, teachers opposed the idea of teaching to the test. Find complete results at EdLog, the LFT blog.

(Baton Rouge – March 5, 2009) Proposed changes to Louisiana’s teacher tenure laws are based on a flawed study that wrongly identifies tenure as “complicit” in keeping “ineffective teachers” in the classroom, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today, adding that LFT will fight efforts to water down laws that protect teacher rights.

Our state is now facing a $1.1 billion budget shortfall, and the Louisana Federation of Teachers is advocating well-targeted investments in public education funding that could amount to billions over the next decade. That may sound like foolishness, but please hear us out.

The officers, staff and members of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers
wish you and yours a blessed holiday season and a happy new year!

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers won a prestigious Carl Megel Award for growth at an American Federation of Teachers national conference on November 13.