Our Strength Depends on Our Schools

On Good Friday, I stopped by the "Eunice News" to pick up a ham that I won in a drawing at my local bank. My courage was strong that day, so I asked to see the editor.  He was friendly, and so, we discussed the possibility of me writing a column that would deal mostly with education issues.

Jim asked me to share a bit of my background.

I mentioned that I was a published author, a former army officer and chaplain, a music teacher, a minister, and a folk musician.

He wanted to know what background I had that would make it easy for me to write a regular education column. Writing is hard work, after all.

I rattled off my credentials:  Earned my education doctorate by researching factors that help our public schools thrive.  My passion for local public schools stronger goes back decades, because every where I've lived and worked our schools have been helped or hurt by policies that were well-intentioned, but not always well thought out. I've also seen communities turn their schools around by exerting as much local control as they could muster.

Whenever I meet folks from Eunice, they ask me why I chose to settle in this town. Here's my standard answer: Eunice markets itself as a "Retirement Destination."  When I came to the area to teach music, I was attracted to Eunice because I could see myself living independently well into old age.

As a lover of rural community life, I believe Eunice has everything a senior citizen could ask for: nearby grocery stores, beauty salons, live Cajun music, a symphony, a theater company, friendly church communities, a golf course, a walking park, a hospital, farms where you can buy  sweet potatoes and fresh eggs, and comfortable weather for most of the year.

Life will be good when I retire in Eunice.  I can imagine myself writing and publishing my third book: the Great American Novel.  I will spend my days playing music, gardening, baking, and maybe, swimming.

But, "I have miles to go before I sleep," as a famous poet once wrote.

For now, I want to investigate and write about education issues because the strength of our community (and the strength of my retirement) directly depends on the health of our schools.

If you haven't noticed, changes are being thrown at our schools by  the state and the federal government at the speed of light, it seems.  Lots of these changes are good. but too many of the changes are throwing us into an unnecessary tailspin that may be hurtful in the long run.

You may have noticed, for example, that the State Department of Education changed how our schools are graded.

In the 2012-13 Report Card, under the new grading system, the Eunice High School score dropped from a 'B' to a 'C.' On the other hand, the Eunice Junior High School increased from a 'D' to a 'C.'  Eunice Elementary School kept is 'A' score.

There are a lot of outside companies who get giddy when public high school scores go down - because they want to close our public schools and replace them with their brand of charter schools.

Other folks out there are fighting to end the new grading standards and the new "Common Core" curriculum.

Me, I am a devout believer that public education is a state constitutionally-mandated system that is our best chance of forming adults who can work productively, serve with good ethics, and live full lives with their family and friends.

I hope you stay with me in the months ahead, as I take a peek into every crevice and corner that affects our "school scores."  Although students and teachers are being driven to madness with "data-driven" mandates, I promise to keep my column useful, but, I will try my best to keep it interesting, too!

In the end, we may crack the code, together, and find the courage and the will to do what we have to do to make our public schools the best they can be.

If that happens, Eunice will not only be a "Retirement Destination."  It will be a family-friendly destination, not only because of its beautiful ball parks and stadiums, but, because our schools from pre-k to high school will be second to none.
  (This article first appeared in the Eunice News on May 4, 2014)