Southeastern, LDOE outline recruitment, preparation and retention steps as BESE committee reviews workforce data

At a meeting of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) Educator Effectiveness Committee, officials from Southeastern Louisiana University and the Louisiana Department of Education described steps intended to recruit, prepare and retain teachers across the state and answered board questions about specialty shortages, residencies and classroom uses of artificial intelligence.

Dr. Paula Calderon, dean of the College of Education at Southeastern Louisiana University and president of the Louisiana Association for Colleges for Teacher Education, told the committee Southeastern is expanding multiple pathways into teaching, including a paid-residency model, dual enrollment for high school students, a living–learning community for education majors and targeted tutoring for licensure exams.

“We will not be successful in trying to ban the use of such technologies, but we can embrace them,” Calderon said, adding about artificial intelligence: “Artificial intelligence, you're not going to beat it. You're not going to get rid of it.” She described classroom-embedded ethical use and citation policies for AI and said Southeastern teaches candidates to incorporate those tools responsibly.

Calderon highlighted program supports funded by a federal bridge grant, including a living–learning community for education students, a practice-focused tutoring program tied to Praxis success (referred to in the presentation as “240 Tutoring”), and a two-year induction model pairing new teachers with non-evaluative mentors in partner districts. She noted Southeastern offers 15 undergraduate certification areas and post‑baccalaureate options for career changers, and described the university’s Energize computer‑science training series, which has trained hundreds of current teachers to prepare them for computer‑science credentialing.

At various points board members pressed for specifics. BESE member Mister Appel asked, “How do you attract more men to the teaching profession?” Calderon said recruitment events try to highlight male teachers and that salary is a major factor. Mister Morris asked for details about pending legislation and the paid‑residency concept; Calderon said the goal is a registered teacher apprenticeship or “paid residency” built into district budgets so residents receive pay during two semesters and, if hired, return to teach in that district as a form of loan forgiveness.

The Louisiana Department of Education presented statewide workforce data and performance indicators. Dr. Chasson (presenting as LDOE staff) said the state’s total teacher workforce increased by 843 teachers to about 52,808 and that statewide retention remained roughly 85 percent, with retention for teachers in their first five years improving.

“This month’s KPI tracks the percentage of students who are being taught by quality educators,” Dr. Chasson said, describing the department’s plan to set a baseline after the current school year under Bulletin 130’s updated educator‑effectiveness standards. LDOE reported milestones including certification of roughly 4,600 leaders in a new evaluation system (referred to in the meeting as LEADS) and meeting goals for the pre‑educator pathway (about 2,005 high‑school students enrolled and 100 schools offering the program this year).

Speakers discussed subject‑specific shortfalls. Board members and presenters said shortages are concentrated in high‑school math and science and in K‑12 special education; LDOE and universities are promoting dual certification, para‑to‑teacher pipelines and differentiated pay to address those gaps. LDOE noted some teacher positions are filled by teachers teaching “out of field” and said vacancy and out‑of‑field data are available in the workforce report and regional snapshots.

BESE members thanked Southeastern and LDOE for the updates and discussed next steps in legislation and local partnerships. Dr. Brumley, speaking before the LDOE report, said he “would reject the notion that we have an overall teacher shortage,” while also acknowledging subject‑area and geographic gaps that remain.

Votes at a glance • Item 2.1 — Receive presentation from Southeastern: Motion to receive recommended; mover: Mister Harris; second: Doctor Armstrong; outcome: received. • Consent agenda — Add items 6.1 through 6.14 and approve consent agenda: mover: Mister Morris; second: Mister Harris; outcome: approved (no opposition). • Item 3.1 — Approve certification preparation pathway proposals: mover: Doctor Clark; second: Mister Harris; outcome: approved. • Item 4.1 — Approve notice of intent revisions to bulletins regarding educator preparation, evaluation and credentials (transcribed as “bulletins 1 37 40 6, and 9 9 6”): mover: Doctor Armstrong; second: Doctor Clark; outcome: motion carried (approved as notice of intent). • Item 5.1 — Receive update report regarding workforce data and key performance indicators: mover: Mister Morris; second: Mister Birkin; outcome: received. • Executive session convened on personnel matters and later reconvened; credential reinstatements (items 7.2–7.4 for Michael Carter, John Grafton and Damon Jackson) were moved for approval in open session and the motion passed (second by Mister Harris); mover for the approval statement in the transcript was not specified.

Why it matters The presentations show coordinated state and higher‑education efforts to replenish the teacher pipeline, keep new teachers past the high‑attrition early years and meet credential requirements in priority subject areas. Several initiatives — paid residencies, dual enrollment, certifier training, targeted tutoring and AI ethics guidance — are presented as complementary steps; federal grant funding and upcoming legislation (including a GoTeach bill discussed elsewhere in the meeting) were identified as important to scale or sustain these efforts.

Looking ahead Board members asked LDOE for vacancy and exit‑survey details; LDOE indicated those tables are available in the workforce report and offered to provide more granular vacancy and exit‑survey data. Southeastern and LDOE officials said their efforts will continue to focus on specialty recruitment (math, science, special education), mentoring and induction, and expanding registered residency/apprenticeship models where districts can budget paid residents.