Teacher Leader Lagniappe

We chat with Louisiana's very first New Teacher of the Year, Jordyn Vicknair. A graduate of Louisiana State University’s GeauxTeach program, she shares her journey through her first year of teaching, her love of teaching math, and the relationships she grew with her students. The graduates of Louisiana’s 2022 Aspiring Principals Fellowship make Em Cooper smile this week.

We chat with Dr. David Schexnaydre, a Louisiana-born and bred award-winning educator, about transforming schools based on student achievement, student wellness, employee engagement, and community involvement metrics. We also dive deeper and discover more Teacher Hacks that every instructor should have on hand.

Ethan Melancon is the Executive Director of Governmental Affairs and leads all legislative strategies for the Louisiana Department of Education. We chat with Ethan about his passion for his job, the legislative process, impactful workforce bills, and all the excitement from the past session. Also featured are new Teacher Hacks focusing on apps that make a massive difference in the classroom!

Judith Rhodes, Ph.D., Professor of Research and Director in the Social Research and Evaluation Center at Louisiana State University’s College of Human Sciences and Education talks with us about school attendance in a post-pandemic world and how we can re-engage students and parents to improve and maintain overall enrollment. We also highlight a mentor teacher at Hynes Charter School.

We talk with Eric Hirsch, Founding Executive of EdReports, about all things dealing with the instructional review process, the curriculum landscape across our country, and why educators should implement high-quality materials into their teachings. Concordia Parish is highlighted for their summer learning program activities.

A discussion with Barry Erwin about his role with Council for a Better Louisiana. Find out about the challenges our education workforce faces as well as how we can work to improve our recruitment, retention, and teacher culture in Louisiana. We will also highlight Tangipahoa Parish on how they are engaging their community and coming together towards a common educational goal.

Em Cooper interviews Amanda Jones, Teacher-Librarian at Live Oak Middle School in Watson, Louisiana. Find out Amanda's favorites as an award-winning Librarian, her journey to becoming a beloved educator, and why Librarians are essential for schools. East Feliciana is highlighted for the experiences they provide students on learning about various careers in their community.

Dr. Wendy Baudoin discusses the role of school boards and school board members, best practices for strong partnerships between boards and systems, how school board meetings work, and why it is important for communities to be involved in the local school system. Homer Junior High is featured during the What’s Making Me Smile segment for their implementation of accelerated learning.

Rochelle Wilcox talks with us about what it means to value students, what makes a classroom special, and how to keep teachers around you motivated to go above and beyond for their students. She also shares how it feels to be the first recipient of the 2022 Louisiana Early Childhood Leader of the Year award. Lafourche Parish School System is making Em smile this week for being awarded a Louisiana Model of Excellence for science instruction.