Partners in education
McNeese will provide academic guidance to LC College Prep
McNeese State University and the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation have formed a partnership in which the university will provide academic guidance and support to Lake Charles College Prep over the next three years.
The day-to-day operations of the high school will continue to run under the direction of LCCP’s administration.
Gene Thibodeaux, president of the board of trustees, said he believes LCCP is the only charter school in the state that has embarked on such a venture with a local university.
“Twenty-first century education demands that we do things that are creative, innovative and out of the box,” he said. “This opportunity presents a unique adventure … something that will move our staff development further into the future and something that will give our students the benefit of a quality, outcome-driven education here at the local level.”
McNeese will be providing LCCP staff with year-long professional development opportunities through its Burton College of Education that will focus on the implementation of the state’s approved curriculum, such as Guidebooks 2.0 and Eureka Math.
“We are looking at assessments, curriculum, strategy based goals and year-long professional development. (We’re) not just coming in at the beginning of the year and having some session with teachers and administrators,” said Angelique Ogea, interim dean of the Burton College of Education. “It’s going to be a year-long process and we look forward to that process.”
McNeese President Daryl Burckel said the goal of the college of education is to develop quality teachers and to drive student outcomes.
“When we were offered the opportunity to participate, help drive outcomes and help develop teachers, that just kind of fit right into our wheel house,” he said.
LCCP’s charter agreement is up for renewal this year before the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
By Louisiana law, charter schools are only permitted to operate based on proven track records of success, Thibodeaux said.
“I think the partnership with McNeese and LCCP will go a long way towards convincing the Louisiana Department of Education and BESE that this presents a really unique opportunity for the educational growth of the our school and, quite frankly, presents an opportunity for competition with the traditional public school.”
We are looking at assessments, curriculum, strategy based goals and year-long professional development.’
Gene Thibodeaux
Board of trustees president for Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation
From left: Marve Sevier and Jennifer Zerangue, Lake Charles College Prep co-principals; Sabrah Kingham, LCCP director of education; Gene Thibodeaux, president of the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation; Dr. Daryl Burckel, president, McNeese State University; Dr. Angelique Ogea, interim dean of the McNeese Burton College of Education; and Dr. Mitchell Adrian, McNeese provost and vice president for academic affairs and enrollment management.