White: No state embracing change like Louisiana

In a guest editorial today in The Times-Picayune, Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White says Louisianans have a simple choice to make as Gov. Bobby Jindal and others press for sweeping education reform. “Our choice is simple: we can prepare our kids for professional careers and become an economic leader, stocked with growth-industry jobs, or we can do just enough for them to graduate high school, leading to a stagnant economy, offering low-wage work,” White says. Noting the state’s 71% high school graduation rate and less impressive figures when it comes to higher education graduation, White says, “The 21st-century economy will require workers educated beyond 12th grade, so we’ve got a lot to do to become a 21st-century state.” The good news, White says, is that “No state is embracing this charge with greater vigor than Louisiana.” Read the full column, in which White discusses a number of Jindal’s reform proposals, here.