At a marathon BESE meeting, board members punted the Common Core controversy to local school boards and teachers, ignored educators’ requests for help with curricula and resources, and promised little relief from a flawed and unaccountable Value Added evaluation model.

(Baton Rouge – October 14, 2013) The teacher evaluation system known as the Value Added Model is dangerously flawed, and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education should seriously consider three items on its Educator Effectiveness Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

(Baton Rouge – October 14, 2013) The state’s highest education board should seriously consider delaying the full, consequential implementation of Common Core State Standards until problems threatening the success of our children and educators are addressed, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

(Baton Rouge – October 1, 2013) A recent full-page advertisement purchased on behalf of the East Baton Rouge Parish school Board violates the confidentiality of teachers’ evaluation results and should never have appeared, according to the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers.

(Baton Rouge – September 18, 2013) Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal joined Florida Governor Jeb Bush in Washington today to push their failed voucher agenda and rail against a Justice Department lawsuit aimed at requiring the state to follow existing desegregation agreements.

Monaghan: “It is easy to see why all roads lead to the courtroom.”

(Baton Rouge – September 3, 2013) Claims by the State Department of Education that its new system of teacher evaluation is fair and accurate are belied by real-world evidence, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

(Baton Rouge – August 29, 2013) Trying to forestall an expected avalanche of lawsuits against local school boards, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers will ask a state judge to rule that Louisiana’s teacher tenure law violates due process guarantees in both the Louisiana and United States Constitutions

(Baton Rouge – August 22, 2013) New surveys demonstrate that parents overwhelmingly favor public education as the best choice for children, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today. The results call into question continued efforts to privatize the state’s education system and judge teachers by standardized test results, he added.

This month's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education got off to a rocky start, with member Lottie Beebe sharply criticizing the state for the way the Value Added Model of teacher evaluation is being implemented

Dear Colleague,

For the past few years, the debate about education has been a one-way conversation, with a lot of negative comments and misguided policies aimed at teachers and our schools. The voices of educators were largely ignored.