Education Equality in Louisiana

I recently became a signatory to the Education Equality Project, EEP, because I believe that every student in America deserves a great teacher and every family deserves a great school. In Louisiana, we are making tremendous progress toward equality in education, but have a long road ahead of us. AIE is committed to working alongside organizations like EEP whose signatories include Dr. Michael Lomax of UNCF, Chancellor Joel Klein of the NYC Public Schools, and a host of education and political leaders across the nation. In Louisiana, EEP's signatories include Paul Pastorek, Superintendent of the Louisiana State Department of Education and Paul Vallas, Superintendent of the New Orleans Recovery School District.

Take a moment to learn about the Education Equality Project and reflect on what you can do to help. Start by reading this from their website, www.edequality.org:

The Education Equality Project is leading a civil rights movement to eliminate the racial and ethnic achievement gap in public education by working to create an effective school for every child.
What are our goals?

* Ensure an effective teacher in every classroom, and an effective principal in every school, by paying educators as the professionals they are, by giving them the tools and training they need to succeed, and by making tough decisions about those who do not;
* Empower parents by giving them a meaningful voice in where their children are educated including public charter schools;
* Create accountability for educational success at every level—at the system and school level, for teachers and principals, and for central office administrators;
* Commit to making every decision about whom we employ, how money is spent, and where resources are deployed with a single-minded focus: what will best serve our students, regardless of how it affects other interests;
* Call on parents and students to demand more from their schools, but also to demand more from themselves;
* Have the strength in our convictions to stand up to those political forces and interests who seek to preserve a failed system.

This post was contributed by Dr. Kristy Hebert, CEO of Advance Innovative Education.