Louisiana officials keep tabs on schools by subbing as teachers

Many lawmakers who make policy for elementary and secondary education in Louisiana “think our schools are still like the ones that Wally and Beaver went to, and they’re not,” says state Treasurer John Kennedy. To get firsthand knowledge of what public schools are really like, Kennedy moonlights as a substitute teacher. In 2004 Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, sponsored a resolution urging statewide elected officials and legislators to experience the public school system by voluntarily substitute teaching at least three full schooldays a year. Two hours into his stint as a substitute teacher at Magnolia Woods Elementary School in Baton Rouge, Kennedy had banished one third-grader to the corner and guided the rest of the class through a writing exercise. The school’s principal, Donna Wallette, popped in to quiz the students about Kennedy’s regular job as the state’s money manager. “Mr. Kennedy is the Louisiana state treasurer. What does treasurer mean?” she asked. Third-grader Dillon Cage’s hand shot into the air. “You dig up treasure,” Dillon offered. Third-grader Javiona Griffin took a different tack, asking, “Is Mr. Kennedy, like, famous?” Kennedy put an end to the questions and returned to the lesson projected onto a classroom screen. Spending the day filling in as a substitute teacher is something Kennedy has tried to do several times a year for the past nine years. Read the full story here.