CART, funded by an $8 million U.S. Department of Education grant with matching and in-kind funds from LSU, The Rapides Foundation, The Orchard Foundation and LSU-Alexandria, as well as participating districts for a total of $16 million, represents a committed partnership of nine Cenla high poverty rural school districts: Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Nachitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn. LSU and its Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Basic Sciences and Education will lead the effort and The Gordon A. Cain Center for Scientific, Technological, Engineering and Mathematical Literacy will provide evaluation services.
“We are excited and honored to lead this program and take a giant step toward improving STEM education in Cenla,” said Gary Byerly, principal investigator on the grant and Richard R. & Betty S. Fenton Alumni Professor of Geology & Geophysics. “LSU has a history of developing new and innovative procedures, techniques and training programs that improve the state of science and math education in K-12 schools.”
The CART program will increase student STEM achievement in the nine-parish Rapides Foundation service area by improving the quality and quantity of perspective new teachers. Sixty teachers will be recruited and prepared to teach advanced placement and dual enrollment mathematics and science courses, thus dramatically increasing the number of Cenla students having access to advanced, upper-level STEM coursework and instruction.
“Research has proven that a strong background in STEM fields leads to more opportunities for our students,” said Joseph R. Rosier Jr., president and CEO of The Rapides Foundation. “Our foundation maintains a strong commitment to improving the lives of the people in Cenla, and building a better educational system for our youth builds a more solid foundation for the future of this area.”
“This collaborative partnership is a model for the future of teacher preparation,” said M. Jayne Fleener, dean of the College of Education. “University and community partners have come together to make an important investment in the future of Louisiana. We are all stakeholders and winners in this collaborative endeavor.”
There will be an intensive one-year site-based residency requirement for CART scholars, followed by a teacher induction model geared to retain more than 85 percent of new teachers in the CART program for the first three years of service. There are five major components to CART:
1. Teacher residency: CART’s robust teacher preparation program emphasizes rigorous content delivery using research-based, effective teaching strategies. Candidates co-teach for one year alongside an outstanding mentor teacher to gain the competencies needed to teach effectively. During their first three years of teaching, the candidates are provided supportive induction services provided by the partners.
2. Student achievement and continuous improvement: The overall goal of CART is to increase the number of students who are college- and workforce-ready by offering Advanced Placement/Dual Enrollment/International Baccalaureate coursework in the STEM fields.
3. School leadership: CART provides leadership professional development to help build and strengthen the support structures necessary to attract and retain exemplary teachers.
4. Selection process: Candidates can be recent college graduates or mid-career changers. They must hold an undergraduate degree in science, mathematics, engineering or other related field with 18 hours math or science content, earned a 3.0+ GPA, possess the qualities needed to teach effectively and be willing to reside and teach in a high-poverty, rural location for a minimum of three years.
5. Broad-based partnership: The partners each bring unique attributes to the program to collectively ensure CART is successfully implemented and meets its goals.
“This is just another example that proves LSU isn’t just a Baton Rouge school – it’s
Louisiana’s state university,” said LSU Chancellor Michael Martin. “Securing such a high-dollar grant and utilizing those funds to strengthen the pillars of STEM education in Central Louisiana will have a tremendous impact on the future of education not just in that region but in our state as a whole. However, current and impending budget cuts will eventually curtail our abilities to maintain this level of excellence in service to our state.”
“This is precisely the type of service that a flagship university offers its state,” said Blake Chatelain, chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the LSU System. “We are eager to see the positive impact this new teacher support, training and retention program will bring to Central Louisiana.”
The CART program is currently funded for five years, but that doesn’t mean it will end at the closure of the grant.
“We expect CART to be a great success,” said Byerly. “Once we have some measurable results and can prove the impact we’re having on Cenla students, I believe very strongly that we’ll be able to continue the program indefinitely.”
Frank Neubrander, project director and Demarcus D. Smith Alumni Professor of Mathematics, added, “The residual effects from CART will be significant as the program will also create an enduring leadership infrastructure that will nurture college-level AP/IB/dual enrollment mathematics and science course offerings within our partner districts, many of which have never had these opportunities.”
Bunkie native Blake Chatelain, who is chairman of the LSU board of Supervisors, was part of the team which made the anouncmencent of the large scale project to improve education in central Louisiana.
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From Rapides Foundation:
GRANT TO PUT 60 MATH, SCIENCE TEACHERS IN CENLA HIGH SCHOOLS
The Rapides Foundation announced today that 60 people with math and science backgrounds will teach in Central Louisiana high schools while pursuing a tuition-paid master’s degree, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The project will create the Central Louisiana Academic Residency for Teachers (CART), a site-based teacher program that will take qualified college graduates and pay their tuition as they work toward a Master’s of Natural Science Degree. In turn, the residents will agree to teach in Central Louisiana high schools for three years after they receive their diploma.
The Rapides Foundation conceptualized the CART project to help Central Louisiana school districts with limited resources offer rigorous education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
It approached LSU, which officially submitted the $8 million federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant that will fund the project. The Rapides Foundation’s partners in this five-year endeavor are The Orchard Foundation, LSU, LSU Alexandria and the public Central Louisiana school districts of Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn parishes.
The CART program is designed to increase student achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM, in Central Louisiana high schools by improving the quality and quantity of perspective new teachers.
“Research has proven that a strong background in STEM fields leads to more opportunities for our students,” said Joe Rosier, president and CEO of The Rapides Foundation. ”Our foundation maintains a strong commitment to improving the lives of the people in Cenla, and building a better educational system for our youth builds a more solid foundation for the future of this area.”
The residents will work in the schools while they pursue their master’s degrees, awarded from LSU. They will teach for three years in their assigned districts after they receive their diplomas. The 15 host schools are Oakdale High in Allen Parish; Avoyelles and Marksville high schools in Avoyelles; Block High in Catahoula; Montgomery High in Grant; LaSalle High in LaSalle; Bolton, Northwood, Peabody Magnet and Tioga high schools in Rapides; Lakeview and Natchitoches Central high schools in Natchitoches; Hornbeck and Rosepine high schools in Vernon Parish; and Winnfield Senior in Winn Parish.
LSU and its Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Basic Sciences and Education will lead the effort and The Gordon A. Cain Center for Scientific, Technological, Engineering and Mathematical Literacy will provide evaluation services.
“We are excited and honored to lead this program and take a giant step toward improving STEM education in Cenla,” said Gary Byerly, principal investigator on the grant and Richard R. & Betty S. Fenton Alumni Professor of Geology & Geophysics.
“This collaborative partnership is a model for the future of teacher preparation,” said M. Jayne Fleener, Dean of the LSU College of Education. “University and community partners have come together to make an important investment in the future of Louisiana. We are all stakeholders and winners in this collaborative endeavor.”
There are five major components to CART:
Teacher residency: Candidates co-teach for one year alongside an outstanding mentor teacher. During their first three years of teaching, the candidates are provided supportive induction services provided by the partners.
Student achievement and continuous improvement: The overall goal is to increase the number of students who are college- and workforce-ready by offering AP/Dual Enrollment/IB coursework in the STEM fields.
School leadership: CART provides leadership professional development to help build and strengthen the support structures necessary to attract and retain exemplary teachers.
Selection process: Candidates can be recent college graduates or mid-career changers. They must hold an undergraduate degree in science, mathematics, engineering or other related field with 18 hours math or science content, earned a 3.0+ GPA, possess the qualities needed to teach effectively, and be willing to reside and teach in a high-poverty, rural location for a minimum of three years.
Broad-based partnership: The partners each bring unique attributes to the program to collectively ensure CART is successfully implemented and meets its goals.
For more information, call The Orchard Foundation at 318-767-6561.
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