On Friday, September 16, the College of Education hosted a workshop entitled “Promoting Excellence by Empowering Communities through Education: An Old South Baton Rouge Workshop.”  The workshop began at 8:00 a.m., and participants were treated to breakfast and lunch.

After breakfast and a brief welcome from Dean Fleener, Curriculum & Instruction Professor Petra Hendry presented a brief history of the Old South Baton Rouge community. Through a grant from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Hendry conducted extensive research on the history of the neighborhood through oral interviews with residents.

After Hendry’s presentation, participants were briefed on the College of Education’s initiatives in Old South Baton Rouge and its plans to cultivate interdisciplinary collaborations to develop an Educational Opportunities Improvement Plan (EOI Plan).  

Representatives from the EBR School System also provided participants with an update on the status of local schools, enrollments, and other areas impacted by Katrina. Participants were then asked to form groups based on the issues to be addressed in the EOI Plan: environment, enrichment, engagement, exercise and nutrition, existing mobility issues, and external/internal image

Each issue group was responsible for identifying at least five “action points” that could be used as a framework for the EOI Plan. These action points will provide a framework for the college and its collaborators to follow should we receive external funding.

A summary of the workshop has been submitted to the Pennington Family Foundation as an addendum to the college’s original proposal requesting funds to develop an Educational Opportunities Improvement Plan. We will provide updates on the status of this proposal as they occur.