Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Dear Editor,

 

Why are the children in St. John the Baptist Parish waiting to have certified teachers in our classrooms? Two years have passed (January 2020) since I first spoke of the waiting process of placing quality teachers in our classrooms. The federal government places responsibility on state and local school districts; with proper monitoring the laws from the federal to state government showing equitable resources from qualified teachers in the classrooms to proper and accountable reporting to parents about the performance and school improvements should be a clear process.

There is still a great need to identify what is working, and what is not. We are in the same situation as we were in 2020, talking about new board members learning about the process of taking control of hiring a superintendent that has the job of hiring employees, the responsibility of the board is to make sure qualified teachers are hired based on certification by the state of Louisiana.

Parents, you must not rest until your child has a teacher that is qualified by the law. Transparency is the key to ensure that every student – no exceptions – experiences and benefits from an excellent education. According to the bus ride some teachers took through some neighborhoods, with the understanding that seeing where some students live will help you do your job (teach) using the resources and training you have learned in the process of studying to become a teacher. The street a student lives on and the zip code are of no importance; we have to teach the child, not the house they live in or what side of the river they live on.

Excellence without Equity is, in fact, neither. It is no longer an option. Public schools in Louisiana spent an estimated $9.7 billion during the 2018-2019 academic year, a 3.7% increase in expenditures over the previous year, according to a National Education Association report.

Again, we need to ‘wake up’ and pay attention to what is going on in St. John. School Board forums are being planned by citizens. Please come out and listen to the candidates.

We must become united by the belief that today’s pressing problems in education present an opportunity to make the changes necessary in St. John that will be more Equitable, Transparent and Sustainable in our system.

‘OUR CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WAIT, NO MORE POLITICS’

 

Carolyn (Jeannie) Batiste

Retired, Still Involved and Very Concerned Citizen Jean