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Board approves $90,000 LDOE work-based learning grant to pilot paid internships at BIPSTL
Summary
The school board approved a $90,000 Louisiana Department of Education grant to support a paid, on-site work-based learning pilot at the Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning (BIPSTL). The pilot will start with four students paid $9.50 per hour and aims to expand into career-technical pathways.
The Bossier Parish School Board voted Sept. 4 to accept a $90,000 Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) work-based learning grant to pilot paid, on-site internships at the Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning (BIPSTL).
Assistant Superintendent Wayland Bates told the board the LDOE-funded pilot will initially place four students on-site at BIPSTL as part of a Carnegie-unit career-technical education course (CTE I) and pay participating students $9.50 per hour. Bates said the program is intended to expand over time into additional workforce areas — including custodial and maintenance, transportation, food service and technical support — with an eventual goal of hiring program participants into district positions.
Principal Amy Washington and CTE supervisor Doug Scott attended the meeting and were cited by Bates as operational leads for the campus-based internship. Bates said the grant carries no direct cost to the board beyond staff time and oversight, and that district legal and risk-management staff reviewed the program structure before the presentation.
Superintendent Jason Rowland framed the approval as part of LDOE’s accountability and CTE emphasis and urged the board to accept the funding. “If we don’t use the money, they would end up sending it back,” Rowland said during the discussion, adding later: “Use it or lose it.”
Board member Miss Smith moved approval; Mr. Bullard seconded the motion. The board voted and the motion passed (tally not specified on the record).
Why it matters: the pilot creates paid work-based learning that combines school credit with on-the-job experience, aimed at students who pursue career-technical pathways rather than a traditional four-year college path. The district said the program is aligned with LDOE priorities and could be scaled to meet local workforce needs if the pilot meets its objectives.
Details and limits recorded on the record: the grant amount is $90,000; initial staffing is four students with possible additional placements (two more) in the spring, and pay is $9.50/hour. Bates described the course as a Carnegie-unit CTE I course and said program approvals were vetted through district legal and risk management staff. The board’s motion passed; no implementation timeline beyond the spring expansion was specified on the record.
Speakers who presented or were cited on the record for this item included Wayland Bates (assistant superintendent of curriculum, ESSA and academic affairs), Amy Washington (principal, BIPSTL), Doug Scott (CTE supervisor), Superintendent Jason Rowland, Miss Smith (board member and mover), and Mr. Bullard (board member and seconder).
