University View Academy Superintendent Dr. Lonnie Luce announced the appointment of Dr. Michelle Clayton, former Deputy Superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish School System, as the new Associate Superintendent of Innovation and Interim K-8 Principal for the state’s top academic performing online K-12 Charter School.

Dr. Luce said Dr. Clayton is now part of his dream team of educators to lead University View Academy into being a K-14 charter school in which every student in every parish of the state has the opportunity to gain a quality public education from day one to graduation, and earn two years towards a college degree by graduation time if they so desire.

Young Audiences Charter School (YACS), an open enrollment, arts-integrated K-7 grade charter school located at 1407 Virgil St. in Gretna and authorized by the Jefferson Parish School Board, has joined the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools (GNOCCS), announced President Latoye Brown. 

The GNOCCS is a non-profit organization established in 2006 to ensure the sustainability and growth of high quality public charter schools in the Greater New Orleans Area in order to offer families a choice among high quality educational programs.

Despite a Legislation Session filled with fiscal struggles, the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC) said there were victories in early child care and education policies for advocates to celebrate, specifically a 30 percent increase in School Readiness Tax Credits funding advanced by Senator J.P. Morrell, co-authored by State Representative Patricia Smith, and supported by Representative Cameron Henry.

The School Readiness Tax Credit Programs, a model legislative initiative that has been effective in improving the quality of child care in Louisiana helped more than 13,000 families last year fund early child care for their child aged 0 to 4. The increase in available credits will help meet the unmet need in the state, which exceeds an additional 20,000 children, according to the LPIC.

“I am thrilled,” said LPIC Director Melanie Bronfin. “Thanks to SR 209 (Morrell)/HR 217(Smith), there is a $5 million increase in the School Readiness Tax Credits funding.”

WHAT:     
The Warren Easton Gia Maione Prima Foundation Summer Camp will holds its summer performance to showcase their camp accomplishments. Performance will include a video presentation of the summer marching band field show and a performance by the jazz band and marching band
 
WHEN:       
Wednesday, June 28 1pm

WHERE:    
Warren Easton Charter High School
Arthur Hardy Auditorium
3019 Canal St. in New Orleans

The Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Board, members, staff, and partners honored International School of Louisiana with the Achievement Gap Award for demonstrating exceptional commitment to successfully closing achievement gaps. The inaugural awards were presented during the DCSC Annual Convening on Sunday June 11.
 
The International School of Louisiana (ISL), receiving the Achievement Gap Award, was founded in 2000 by a group of parents who envisioned a public school offering a foreign language-based academic program with a global perspective. Students are taught core academic subjects in either French or Spanish through everyday conversation and classroom instruction learn a second language naturally. Their unique school model has produced achievement gap-closing results. In both the 2014-15 and the 2015-2016 school years, ISL has had a greater percentage of its minority and economically disadvantaged students scoring at “Mastery or above” than the district of New Orleans or the state. Within the school, almost two-thirds of ISL students qualify for free and reduced lunch and have an average of 92% in Basic or Above on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program assessment. Head of School Melanie Tennyson attributes their academic success to the hard work and dedication of ISL teachers and staff implementing the language immersion program through the ISL experience.

Seventeen Louisiana members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a nationwide, bipartisan, non-profit organization of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, and violence survivors are supporting efforts by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children to return state funding for quality early child care programs to a position of priority. “We are committed to research-based solutions that prevent crime. Research confirms that high-quality early care and education programs can decrease the chances a kid will become involved in crime later in life,” the joint statement says above the signature of Sheriffs from Lafourche, Rapides and St. Charles Parishes, and the Police Chiefs from Baker, Benton, Campti, Morgan City, Grambling, Heflin, Hodge, Kentwood, Lake Charles, and Westlake. The District Attorney of Orleans, university security heads, as well as the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police also signed the statement.

​Like other sensible New Orleanians, I am appalled at the city administration's excuse on tonight's news that again dismisses the fact that the gutted police force--from 1600 to 1100 officers--is the reason for our city’s public safety problems. The Mayor arrogantly refuses to accept responsibility and instead blames our people and our community's culture. 
 
As someone who grew up in Desire, I can attest that a poor, violent neighborhood, where there is no consistent police presence, is a killing zone…not because of the culture of the majority of the people who live there, but because of the bullies.
 
Crime is ravaging our City.  Crime is up in New Orleans because police manpower is down. And, criminals know it.  You can’t be nice with the bad guys. 
 
The District Attorney and other crime fighters estimate there are 200 individuals who are terrorizing this community. 200. The reason we can’t stop them is because there aren’t enough cops. Period.
 
There has been no Police Academy for nearly four years! 
 
Crime cameras don’t deter crime; police officers do!  Addressing the crime problem will require: 
(1) immediately increasing the number of police officers, and 
(2) developing a long-range plan to prevent a drastic reduction in the number of officers.
 
Stop blaming and take the steps to change! We can take those steps RIGHT NOW.

Parents want to make sure, right from the start, that their little learners are on the right path as they enter Kindergarten or a public school’s earliest grades. In Louisiana, more and more parents find that path begins at a free public completely online school…University View Academy.

University View Academy serves approximately 2000 families with students enrolled in grades K-12 every year, from parishes throughout the state. The school opened six years ago as Louisiana Connections Academy and recently changed its name to emphasize its educational mission.

Superintendent Lonnie Luce recently announced that every 8th grader is allowed to enter an associate’s degree track and actually graduate with two years of college credit or an associates degree from a Louisiana community college under their belt—FOR FREE! It’s the first such program in the state and all of Louisiana’s 13 community colleges are participating.