Preparing our children to compete GLOBALLY:As a business organization, we believe that it is imperative that ALL American students have access to an education that will prepare them for the opportunities and challenges they will face after high school. In a competitive world economy where education and/or training after high school is increasingly the norm for access to good jobs, to prepare students for anything less is, by definition, to deny opportunity.
Unfortunately, today, too few high school students graduate and, among those who do, too few graduate well-prepared for life after high school. In order to prepare today’s students for the challenging world they will encounter, it is critical that we set the right expectations. For this reason, we believe Louisiana needs to have K-12 standards that will prepare all students by the end of high school for success in college and careers.
We support the adoption of the Common Core State Standards by Louisiana and the rest of the U.S.
The Common Core State Standards are an important opportunity to set consistent, focused, rigorous expectations for all students; a necessary foundation for making the changes needed to improve student achievement and ensure the United States’ educational and economic preeminence.
Under new leadership of the school board and superintendent, 2 years ago the JPPSS began implementing Common Core. Since then, positive statistics have skyrocketed. A report by researchers at GCR, Inc. shows that public schools in Jefferson Parish have seen dramatic improvements in nearly every metric. One that is particularly interesting is the fact that performance is trending upward given the vast enrollment, now at 46,100!
MAJOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT INDICATORS:
- A 17% increase in State District Performance Scores. This moves the large district’s state rank from 52nd to 42nd!
- The percentage of A and B rated schools nearly doubled to 25% and preliminary data indicates even greater increases in the 2012-13 school year, (data to be released soon)!
- LEAP and iLEAP scores have improved at a rate above the state average in nearly every grade level!
- Graduation rates have risen significantly, seeing higher increases than the state overall.
- JPPSS has moved from a D to a B school system.
Please take a look at the full report prepared by third party, GCR,Inc.
Jefferson Parish Public Schools 2013 Status Report >
COMMON CORE TOOLKIT:
There are many misconceptions about the Common Core Standards. Please reference this tool kit to read about FAQs, myths and truths:
- www.BusinessForCore.org
- www.theCommonCore.com
- www.GeauxHigher.org
- www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/common-core-state-standards
- www.corestandards.org
- Myths and Facts about the Common Core State Standards
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR COMMON CORE:
- Send a letter to your legislators on company letterhead. Here are some sample letters: SAMPLE #1 and SAMPLE #2
- Go to votefor.biz to search for your elected officials
- Send your company logo to be added to this Joint Statement of Support for Common Core to Stand for Children Communications Director, Carrie Griffin Monica.
