The steering committee of the new statewide Coalition for Louisiana Public Education (the Coalition) which made its debut recently plans to assemble and introduce member organizations to the public this week in the Baton Rouge area.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 20, the Coalition members will hold a press conference near the Department of Education. Jack Loup, founder and chair of the Coalition, will facilitate. Loup will open with the Coalition mission and agenda, introduce the organizations which are present for the press conference, and will invite each member organization to speak briefly to the press and public.
For the first time the major professional education organizations in the state have aligned themselves together to address the current challenges to public education.
The steering committee of the Coalition is comprised of leaders of the following state organizations: Louisiana Association of Superintendents (LASS); Louisiana Association of Principals (LAP); Louisiana School Board Association (LSBA); Louisiana Association of School Executives (LASE); Louisiana Association of Child Welfare and Attendance Personnel (LACWAP); Louisiana Association of Chief Technology Officers (LACTO); Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators (LaCUE); Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE); Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT); Louisiana Association of Retired Teachers (LRTA); National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT); immediate past president of the National School Board Association (NSBA); representatives of Parents Across America and Save Our Schools; and three published researchers with Research on Reforms and the Louisiana Educator, all of whom analyze and evaluate education reform measures. Four other statewide organizations are currently in the process of joining the Coalition.
The Coalition members are focusing their expertise on three main areas related to public education: state funding, state accountability and state micromanagement of local school districts.
Erroneously described in the past as trying to “preserve the status quo,” the coalition organizations have already begun working together with elected officials toward major legislative initiatives with a dual objective — to propel Louisiana toward national pre-eminence in public education, which will subsequently boost Louisiana economically.
Information about the Coalition has been posted on many of the websites of the member organizations. For further information, contact Loup at jackloup@wildblue.net or 985-796-3771.
Louisiana Voice 
It’s great to see so many groups of educators coming together to voice their opinions: however, doesn’t this look like a case of Divide And Conquer? Wouldn’t they be a stronger voice were they all huddled under one umbrella?
I believe that is precisely what they have done. All the named groups are combining their resources into the efforts of a single coalition in order to speak as one voice to legislators and BESE members–when they aren’t busy creating more corporate-run for-profit charter schools.
Tom is exactly correct!
The Coalition is an Umbrella organization.
Looks to me like groups of government school bureaucracy employees.
If they want to make a huge change for the positive they would ask that all funding move to vouchers so that they could start schools or take over existing state run schools and pay themselves more and run the schools in a manner that no politician could interfere with.
Just think if these people could put their full time efforts and creativity into teaching kids instead of fighting bureaucracy??
Why would anyone rather work for a government run school that is prone to all kinds of political interference than a well funded private schools charged with delivering good educational services for all?
Wouldn’t it be great if these people could get vouchers to start say gifted kids schools or special need kid schools or vocational schools?
What a waste of talent for our smartest employees in educations to be fighting to preserve a system that just is not working as well as it should??
We spend about $10k per student in Louisiana. What teacher or educator who was given $250,000 to teach 25 students couldn’t do a better job that we do know by having three layers of government dictate how that $250000 will be used?
It is insanity to oppose vouchers.