Louisiana
Louisiana receives largest federal grant in the nation to improve student literacy
Louisiana is poised to receive $70 million from the U.S. Department of Education to improve reading instruction at high-need schools.
It’s the largest amount any state got in a recently announced round of grants, officials said. A portion of the money will pay for mentor teachers to help their colleagues learn the latest research-based methods to teach reading to children of all ages.
“These funds will help teachers and leaders improve in their profession so they can have the greatest impact on students,” Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said in a statement.
According to the state Department of Education, schools will have to complete a competitive application process detailing how they plan to use the funding. To be approved, they must also show the state that they struggle with high teacher turnover, low graduation rates, a growing population of English learners, have a high number of third graders at risk of being held back, or are otherwise “chronically failing.”
The money will be distributed over a five-year span.
LDOE executive director of literacy Shanna Beber said the funds will primarily provide additional support for teachers, who, under a 2021 state law, must undergo a one to two-year-long training program to learn the latest methods to teach students how to read.
“Literacy is an ongoing developmental skill,” Beber said.
She added that having mentors work with teachers on current best practices will ensure “that every child becomes a literate citizen.”
This is the third such round of grants to be handed out by the federal government under its Comprehensive Literacy State Development, or CLSD, Program. Louisiana was previously awarded $100 million in 2019 and $42 million in 2020.
Jenna Chiasson, LDOE’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, said the state has been pinpointed each time for the strides it’s made in improving student literacy outcomes.
“We really have evidence that what we’re already doing is working for students,” she said. “We want to keep that momentum going.”
Louisiana has received praise in recent years for its students’ reading gains. In a national report released earlier this year, it was one of just three states where reading test scores were found to have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Researchers lauded the comeback as “remarkable.”
State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley has also touted improvements in the number of kindergarteners and first graders reading at or above level, with state data showing that test scores for students in those grades improved by an average of about 20% over the course of last school year.
But while the state has made strides in some areas, officials largely acknowledge there’s still a long way to go.
The national report found that, while Louisiana students’ reading scores had improved on average since 2020, stark racial and economic divides remained, with Black, Hispanic and low income students making less progress than their White and affluent peers.
And according to a July report from the state Department of Education, nearly half of Louisiana’s second and third graders ended last school year reading below or significantly below grade level.
The numbers could be cause for concern for the state where, starting this school year, third grade students who score below a certain threshold on their spring exam risk being held back.
DeJunne’ Jackson, president of the Center for Literacy & Learning, a national nonprofit early-learning organization that provided schools with literacy specialists after Louisiana received CLSD money in 2020, said the grant will be lifesaving for some of the state’s reading efforts, many of which have been kept afloat using COVID-era relief funds that are set to expire this year.
When dollars from temporary programs dry up, “so do the supports. It’s like getting the rug pulled out from under you,” Jackson said. “It frustrates our educators.”
She added that tackling literacy gaps early on is crucial for keeping students on the right track.
“Literacy is the foundation for all learning,” Jackson said. “We’ve put forth so much effort to move the needle for our students. This funding means that we can continue that work.”
Massive alligator causes chaos, attempts to avoid capture
Officers wrangled and released an alligator after it was spotted near a home in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
Louisiana may expand its wild alligator harvesting opportunities to recreational hunters if the Legislature passes a bill that secured unanimous approval in a committee hearing March 11.
Franklin state Sen. Robert Allain’s Senate Bill 244 would authorize the Louisiana Wildlife Commission to create a recreational season that would be open to 5,000 hunters annually, each with a two-gator limit.
The state already has a commercial hunting season for alligators, which is chronicled in the popular “Swamp People” TV reality series.
“We think the time is right,” Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Tyler Bosworth testified during the Senate Natural Resources Committee hearing. “We want to provide a recreational opportunity for the common folk of Louisiana.”
Louisiana’s alligator population has exploded in the past 50 years from fewer than 100,000 to more than 3 million today. Of those, about 2 million are wild with another 1 million farmed.
That’s at least twice the population in Florida, the state with the second most number of alligators.
And their Louisiana numbers have grown throughout the state where they can be commonly spotted from Lake Martin in Breaux Bridge to Caddo and Cross lakes in Shreveport to Caldwell Parish in northeastern Louisiana.
“This is a conservation success story on the highest level,” LDWF general counsel Garrett Cole said during the hearing. “This would create a true recreational opportunity outside our commercial season.”
Garrett said hunters would compete for hunting tags through a lottery will statewide opportunities. Recreational hunters would be limited to hook and line harvesting from land. No gators could be taken by boat as commercial hunters are allowed to do.
If approved, the first season could take place beginning Oct. 1.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
Responsible Anglers United, LDWF release bass into Lake Bouef
Responsible Anglers United team up with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to release more than 3,000 Florida bass into Lake Bouef on Oct. 17.
While Louisiana’s largest lake, the Toledo Bend Reservoir, spans 1,200 miles of shoreline, the state’s deepest lake only spans 1,125 acres.
Lake Peigneur is the deepest lake in Louisiana, with a depth measuring approximately 200 feet.
Lake Peigneur is a brackish lake, meaning it contains saltwater but has less salinity than seawater, located in New Iberia Parish in South Louisiana.
How did Lake Peigneur become the deepest lake in Louisiana?
Lake Peigneur was not always considered the deepest lake in Louisiana, as it was only a 10-foot-deep freshwater lake 40 years ago.
On Nov. 20, 1980, an oil rig crew was attempting to free a 14-inch drill bit when they heard popping noises and the rig began to tilt. Shortly after the crew abandoned the rig and headed for shore, the crew watched the 150-foot oil rig disappear into the 10-foot-deep lake.
Soon, a whirlpool formed in place of the oil rig. The whirlpool grew rapidly until it was able to suck up nearby boats, barges, trees, a house and half an island.
At the same location of the oil drilling site, there was also a salt mine, and when the whirlpool formed after the oil rig collapsed, the mine began to fill with water. As the whirlpool grew, water was able to enter the mine at such a force that it caused a geyser to spew out of the mine’s opening for hours until the lake was drained.
After the lake was emptied, the Delcambre Canal began to flow backward, marking the only time in history that the Gulf of Mexico flowed into the continental U.S. This backflow continued until the entire mine and lake were filled with water, except now the lake was filled with saltwater, according to an article published on Louisiana Tech Digital Commons.
Can you swim in Lake Peigneur?
Before the oil rig and salt mine accident, Lake Peigneur was a popular spot for fishing and recreational activities. However, since the lake is almost entirely surrounded by private property, visitors will have to enter the nearby Rip Van Winkle Gardens in order to get a closer look, according to Atlas Obscura.
While there are no reports indicating the lake is unsafe, the lake is not exactly developed for public access. However, there are things to do around Lake Peigneur, like visiting Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island, or visiting Avery Island to tour the Tabasco Factory.
Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com
PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — A local fisherman raised concerns about the substance now coating Opal Beach, citing a recent oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.
WEAR News went to officials with the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Escambia County to find out the cause.
They say it’s not related to an oil spill, but is in fact algae.
The Marine Resources Division says they can understand beachgoers’ concerns, and hope to raise awareness.
“You don’t even want to get near it because it’s so gooey and sticky,” local fisherman Larry Grossman said. “It was accumulating on my beach cart wheels yesterday, and it felt like an oil product.”
Grossman messaged WEAR News on Monday after noticing something brown and oozy in the sand. He says it started showing up by Fort Pickens and stretched down to Opal Beach.
Grossman said a park service employee told him it could be oil from a recent spill in Louisiana. So he took a message to social media, sparking some reactions and raising questions.
“it certainly didn’t seem like an algae bloom because I was in the water, I caught a fish and I put some water in the cooler to keep my fish cool and it almost looked like oil in it,” Grossman said. “I know some people think it’s an algae bloom, but it certainly smelled and felt and looked like oil.”
A Gulf Islands National Seashore spokesperson confirmed to WEAR News on Tuesday that the substance is algae.
WEAR News crews were at the beach as officials with the Escambia County Marines Resources Division came out take samples.
“What I found here washed up on the beach is some algae — filamentous algae, single celled algae — that washed ashore in some onshore winds,” said Robert Turpin, Escambia County Marines Resources Division manager. “This is the spring season, so with additional sunlight, our plants, they grow in warmer waters, with plenty of sunlight.”
Turpin says this algae is not harmful.
He also addressed the concerns that this could be oil, saying he’s familiar with what oil spills look like.
He says he appreciates when people like Grossman raise the concerns.
“The last thing in the world we want is something to gain traction on social media that is faults in nature that could harm our tourism,” Turpin said. “Our tourism is very important to our economy, and we want to give the right information out to the public so we all enjoy the beaches and enjoy them safely.”
Turpin says if you see something or suspect something may be harmful on the beach, avoid it and contact Escambia County Marine Resources.
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