News

(Baton Rouge – January 17, 2012) In a lengthy speech before members of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Governor Bobby Jindal unveiled what he has characterized as his bold plan for public education. The governor outlined a broad agenda divided into categories including teachers, parents, school officials and early childhood education.

UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION!

Politicians believe the Value Added Model is right for Louisiana teachers. LFT isn't so sure.

Beginning in 2012-13, Louisiana teachers will be evaluated using a new instrument that incorporates what is known as a Value Added Model. The VAM makes judgments about a teacher’s performance based on student growth as measured by standardized tests.

The Louisiana AFL-CIO will be offering three $1,000 scholarships at the 57th annual Convention, to be held on March 5-6 at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, located at 201 Lafayette Street in Baton Rouge.

For complete information, please click here.

(Baton Rouge – December 14, 2011) The state’s Education Estimating Conference was right to reject a guess that Louisiana’s average teacher salary has climbed to more than $51,000 per year, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

As expected, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education rammed through, with very little debate, a new teacher evaluation system heavily skewed toward a Value Added Model on Tuesday.

Not that there wasn't objection. As this Associated Press article points out, there were plenty of reasonable objections made by expert teachers and their organizations. The lack of debate was on BESE's side - like obedient children, they did as they were told and approved the new model.

(Baton Rouge – October 7, 2011) Saying that the recent release of letter grades for Louisiana public schools is an exercise in intellectual dishonesty, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan called on the state’s leaders to stop playing politics, engage in an honest dialogue concerning our the health of our schools, our communities, and our families, and then provide the resources needed to provide every child an equal opportunity to succeed.

The 47th annual convention of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers will convene at 2:00 P.M. Sunday, November 20, at Diamond Jacks Resort Hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Services will be held on Friday, September 9, for longtime AFL-CIO President Victor Bussie, who passed away in his sleep on Sunday, September 4.

(Baton Rouge – August 16, 2011) Even though thousands of public employees are wondering how they will be affected by the proposed privatization of a state health insurance plan, Gov. Bobby Jindal and his advisors skipped a League of Women Voters forum on the subject Tuesday.

That left only opponents of the privatization scheme, including Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan, to talk about the issue.

Please click here and ask Gov. Jindal to sign SB 6 into law!

SB 6 by Sen. Butch Gautreaux (D-Morgan City) deserves to be signed into law on its own merits. But its passage became even more urgent when three bills allowing retirees to return to work without losing their whole retirement benefit were tied to SB 6 in the waning days of the legislative session.