Search Terms: ESEA
Document 3 of 24.
Copyright 2000 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
The Times Picayune (New Orleans)
October
13, 2000 Friday
SECTION:
METRO; Pg. 1
LENGTH:
416 words
HEADLINE:
Schools conference shows problems are shared;
St. Charles educators play host to peers
BYLINE:
By Maria Giordano; River Parishes bureau
BODY:
Accountability reforms, attracting new teachers and unfunded state mandates were among the hot topics as the National Federation of Urban and Suburban School Districts conference kicked off Thursday in New Orleans.
The conference, sponsored this year by the St. Charles Parish public school district, includes more than 150 participants from school districts across the nation. State Education Superintendent Cecil Picard addressed conference members Thursday, giving them an overview of Louisiana's struggle with accountability reforms and improving teacher quality. Nearly every district member of the federation either has a similar accountability program or is developing one.
In one focus group, St. Charles administrators gave details about the district's preparation to face high-stakes testing. And representatives of school districts such as those in Topeka, Kan.; Baltimore County, Md.; and Charleston County, S.C., shared their school systems' accountability measures.
"We each do things a little bit differently, but we have the same structure," said Rachel Allemands, St. Charles' director of instruction, curriculum and assessment.
During roundtable talks with school board members, attracting certified teachers and dealing with unfunded state and federal mandates also generated lengthy discussions.
St. Charles School Board President Clarence "Sonny" Savoie said teacher recruitment is getting harder and harder, because fewer college students are choosing teaching as a profession. And the lack of money for state and federal mandates soon will have a crippling effect on districts, he said.
As an example, Savoie pointed to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which asks local districts to provide more staff training, reduce class sizes and improve technology in the classroom, among other items.
"With only 10 percent funding, local districts have to fund (
ESEA)
," Savoie said. "We don't know what the solutions are, except for going to Washington and banging on their doors. It's frustrating."
St. Charles Parish schools Superintendent Rodney Lafon said such conferences, which bring together school administrators from a broad region, help spread ideas.
"I got to sit down with 12 superintendents in an informal setting and talk about accountability," Lafon said Thursday. "It makes us more informed. It keeps us in the learning curve."
St. Charles is the lone metropolitan New Orleans district in the federation. The conference continues today.
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Document 3 of 24.
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