September 2019

September 2019

Welcome to a New "School" Year!

September 11, 2019

I consider myself as an eternally optimistic individual. A new school year always has been for me a new start for as long as I can remember. If our work is educating students, no matter the setting, then optimism has to be a part of our DNA, if we call ourselves educators. The opportunity to join with and engage others in the learning process has a special place in our society. I make the same resolutions that everyone else makes at the beginning of a new year, and I, hopefully, will keep mine throughout this school year, especially associated with the education of our students in service to Louisiana. Therefore, I wish you and your students well in your new school year.

 

image of the Best Practices homepage with monthly issues listed with gold mark across the bottom

Join us. See past issues of Best Practices here. Have a critical issue in education that you would like for us to address in a future issue? Email us at [email protected]!Yours in Education and Service,
LSU School of Education

The Fall 2019 semester at LSU is well underway and I want to remind you of some opportunities available to you as a result of reading this publication.  We have updated our contact list and welcome you to our weblog – Best Practices. We are excited to share with you the important work of our LSU School of Education faculty this coming year.

For those of you who are new to this list, the intent of Best Practices is to communicate what research suggests would be beneficial to you and your students. Our goal is to engage the public, policymakers, and alumni in the serious business of education. Our School’s vision is to be recognized for its local, national, and international contributions to knowledge, policy, and practice.

As a top 100 School of Education, the faculty are experts in their disciplines who have specialized knowledge for improving the quality of life of our neighbors, citizens, students. This electronic publication seeks to inform and to provide solutions to issues that face parents, educators, and policymakers.

The goal is to cultivate engagements among our local, state, and national communities to address contemporary challenges, and to deepen civic and academic learning, while enhancing community well-being and enriching scholarship.

To this end, we are pleased to join the Louisiana Public School Coalition by promoting the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) Candidate Forums. BESE District 6 and 8 represent the capitol region. The forum for District 6 candidates will be held on September 25, and District 8 candidates will meet October 1. To register for these or any of the other forums throughout the state visit the Louisiana Public School Coalition website.

Please call or email me if you have suggestions about how we can help advance education in the State of Louisiana in any way.  LSU’s School of Education has 111 years of providing training, research, professional development, and service to the educational communities of this state.  Our futures are bright when we work together!  

 

Sincerely,

F. Neil Mathews, PhD
Director and Olinde Endowed Professor
LSU School of Education
[email protected]

 

 

 

“Democracy as a way of life uses varied institutional forms and changing patterns of cooperative association as time and circumstances may require, but it holds fast to its abiding elements: Its respect for human personality, its insistence on the fullest freedom of belief and expression for all citizens, its principle that all should participate in decisions that concern themselves, its faith in reason, its deep obligation to promote human well-being.”

Zook, G. F. (Chair). (1947). Higher education for American democracy: A report of the President’s Commission on Higher Education (Vols. 1-6). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

 

two male children and one female child wearing school uniforms and backpacks standing in front of the American FlagBESE Forums at a Glance:

  • District 6  |  September 25  |  4:30 p.m.  |  Livingston Parish Library

  • District 8  |  October 1  |  5 p.m.  |  Capitol Elementary

  • List of Louisiana Public School Coalition BESE Forums Across the State Here

Forums are open to all members of the community. The LSU School of Education leadership will be present at the September 25 and October 1 forums. We hope to see you there, and encourage our alumni, educators, and partners in education to attend a forum in your area as well.

BESE, or the LA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, it our state's top decision-making body for Louisiana's public schools. According to the Coalition, the forums are designed to give new and incumbent candidates the opportunity to speak directly with constituents. The individuals elected to BESE impact tens of thousands of students, teachers, education support personnel, school boards, and retirees across our state.

Please make plans to attend a forum in your area.

 

 

Are you registered to Vote?

This is a helpful website where you may fill out a form to see if 1) you are already registered to vote at your current address; and/or 2) register to vote.

 

 

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