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Writer's pictureTania Nyman

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

Thursday, April 22, 2021


I gather that Supt. Narcisse has once again proposed a new school calendar, which traditional public schools--but not charters--must abide by, and lo and behold, it in essence commits the same offense as the first. It unnecessarily and illogically infringes on teachers' and families' traditional vacation time under the guise of the best interests of students. But this is not about the best interest of students. The claim that this is for the "good of the children" and to "accommodate demands of teachers and parents" is just not supported by proponents' arguments or the proposed calendar.

Gee, in that case, I wonder what Supt. Narcisse is trying to accomplish? Please consider again my post from last week, "EBR's Katrina Moment," which I will provide a link to at the end of this post. Like the previously proposed calendar, this calendar appears to be designed to encourage the proliferation of charter schools. And by offering it in this manner, Supt. Narcisse appears to have effectively created an inherently harmful either/or: Either we start with a calendar that will encourage the further proliferation of charter schools or teachers will lose the opportunity for additional professional development and related pay. Oh, and if the union opposes the new calendar, teachers will be demonized for "not caring about students." If I'm missing some information that would support a different interpretation, please let me know.

As you critically evaluate the merits of my assessment of recent events, please consider the myriad of arguments published in the last week or two in support of "dramatically reforming public education at this moment." I'll post those at the end as well, but they include:

Jindal, Bobby. "Covid Provides a Rare Chance to Transform Public Education." The Wall Street Journal, 9 April 2021.

Lockett, Terrence. (Former aide to Sen. Mary Landrieu and current Director of Democrats for Education Reform.) "Letters: Sito Narcisse intent on creative thinking about old problems in BR education." The Baton Rouge Advocate, 19 April 2021.

Duggan, Adonica. (former EBR Communications Director, former Executive Director of External Affairs for New Schools for Baton Rouge, current Board Member of University View Charter School.) "Guest Column: Push for a Strong Effort for Baton Rouge Students Post-Pandemic." The Baton Rouge Advocate, April 20, 2021.

Those who want to dismantle public education so they can privatize it have always manipulated the narrative and obfuscated their true intentions.

Please know that charter schools as designed in Louisiana not only undermine our voting rights and siphon our tax dollars out of the community. They are destabilizing teaching as a profession; they are not required to hire certified teachers. They are also destabilizing the teachers pension system; they are not required to participate in TRSL or last I heard, to contribute a portion of the MFP dollars they receive towards the unfunded accrued liability.

This is about more than a school calendar or stipend. You cannot effectively fight against it if you don't know what you're up against.


Nyman, Tania. "EBR's Katrina Moment." 15 April 2021. https://www.tanianyman.com/post/ebr-s-katrina-moment

Other links:


Lockett, Terrence. "Letters: Sito Narcisse intent on creative thinking about old problems in BR education." The Baton Rouge Advocate, 19 April 2021. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_674b43c0-9f94-11eb-9917-2f6265dd2b68.html


Duggan, Adonica. "Guest Column: Push for a Strong Effort for Baton Rouge Students Post-Pandemic." The Baton Rouge Advocate, April 20, 2021. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/article_0731f77c-a129-11eb-b2a7-0b41ec3088cd.html?fbclid=IwAR2IbeFdbGzHFI__Fsj_L-hD1CKLaNzClf6kRGkK1AQsrnkvouioTfrw-eI



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