Evangeline Parish School Board Meeting

July 2, 2014

    The Evangeline Parish School Board held its first meeting of the month Wednesday in the Media Center.  The Board approved a motion to allocate $500,000.00 for the purchase of new math textbooks for all children in the parish grades K-12.  It pleased the Board to hear that the new math book will come with an online system that will allow children to log on to their math book via computer from home.  There will be a tool included online that will allow a child, or parent helping a child, that may be stumped by a math problem, to be shown the explanation of how to solve the problem properly.  

    The controversial Common Core and PARC on line Assessment were also discussed once again.  Superintendent, Toni Hamlin presented a letter she received from State Supt. of Education John White.  In that letter he states:

    “Given that the new school year is rapidly approaching, this lack of clarity on future tests risks is creating a chaotic situation for students, families, and educators.  It is important that we move quickly to resolve it. To resolve the issue swiftly, BESE (Board of Elementary Education) voted today to obtain outside legal counsel on a pro bono basis, to advise the board on this issue.  At the same time, BESE voted to require me and my team to seek a meeting with the Governor to discuss potential resolution other than the courts.”

Governor Jindal and State Superintendent John White have been in disagreement in the use of the Common Core and PARC Assessment.  

     Given the conflict in the matter, the Board reaffirmed its earlier decision for moving forward with installing the new technology needed for whatever assessment comes through, and to keep the children moving forward in this age of technology.

       It was also reported that next school year , the grading periods will go from every six weeks to every nine weeks.