Holly Boffy, recently re-elected to her third term as a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education lauded the Acadia Parish education system when she addressed community leaders here Friday.
“Acadia Parish has a better understanding of BESE than any of the other nine parishes in my district,” she said during the morning Business Over Breakfast event at Rice Palace Restaurant.
She attributed that to the late Dr. John A. Bertrand, long-time superintendent of Acadia Parish Schools and member of the state board.
The former social studies teacher at Paul Breaux Middle School (Lafayette) and a former Teacher of the Year, Boffy focused her address on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal law passed in December 2015 that governs the U.S. K-12 public education policy.
ESSA replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students.
“Our challenge is for students to get to kindergarten ready to learn,” she said, adding that recent emphasis on early childhood education is working toward that goal.
She explained that having students perform “at grade level” later in their school career is more difficult without early intervention.
Boffy pointed out that, while the state has recently topped the 80 percent mark for high school graduates, Acadia Parish has a graduation rate of 92.7 percent.
“The statewide goal is 90 percent and you’re already ahead of that,” she said.
She also noted that about 50 percent of the graduates statewide have advanced credentials while 72.5 percent of those in Acadia have earned those credits.
Looking forward, Boffy said, “The next generation of parents and teachers is in our schools right now. If we do better, they’ll do better.”
The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is the administrative body for all Louisiana public elementary and secondary schools; it also performs certain administrative functions for the state’s non-public elementary and secondary schools.
BESE adopts regulations and enacts policies governing the operations of the schools under its jurisdiction, and exercises budgetary oversight of their educational programs and services.
BESE formulates the annual Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) budget for education and presents it to the state legislature. The legislature can either approve or disapprove the budget, it cannot make changes to it.
Hosted by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce, Business Over Breakfast is sponsored by the Acadia Parish Farm Bureau Insurance office.
