Ben Franklin teachers and leaders agree on contract

UPDATE: The board of Benjamin Franklin High School unanimously voted to ratify the contract with the United Teachers of New Orleans. Here is a link to the contract that has now been ratified by teachers and the board.

NEW ORLEANS (March 18, 2015) –Benjamin Franklin High School and the United Teachers of New Orleans announce a tentative agreement on an initial three-year contract.  This bargaining agreement is a promising start to a stronger relationship and improved communication between the faculty, the administration and the school board, reinforcing the school’s mission of preparing students of high academic achievement to be successful in life

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Morris Jeff teachers present collective bargaining petition

(New Orleans – March 2, 2015) Teachers at Morris Jeff Community School today petitioned their administration and board to recognize the United Teachers of New Orleans as their representative and to begin negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement.

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Opt-out movement needs a state response, LFT says

(Baton Rouge – February 5, 2015) A rising movement calling for parents to opt their children out of taking high-stakes tests is just the latest sign of chaos in the Baton Rouge education bureaucracy, and a signal that the state education board must take decisive action and give parents, teachers, and local school districts a sense of direction, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

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LA charters praised for lack of accountability

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has ranked Louisiana as the second highest of all the states, based on how our state’s charter school law aligns with the organization’s model law. Their rankings reward states for making charter schools less accountable to local voters and taxpayers.

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BESE Report January 2015

BESE defers expensive teacher retirement study

In a rare move, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education overruled a recommendation by one of its own committees to fund an expensive study of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana’s Unfunded Accrued Liability.

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