July 17, 2023
BATON ROUGE, LA - Forged from an eleven-year partnership between Carver Library and LSU literacy faculty, the Carver Cubs Summer Reading Clinic is held every weekday for four weeks each June. In keeping with a clinical model, the graduate literacy education students provide specific, individualized reading and writing instruction based on diagnostic literacy assessment data to neighborhood children entering grades 1-7. The reciprocal goals of the partnership are (1) providing free reading and writing instruction and enrichment to the young patrons of the neighborhood library during the summer, and (2) creating opportunities for graduate students to refine their skills associated with literacy instruction and gain experience working with diverse student populations. Dr. Kim Skinner and Dr. Laura Piestrynski are thankful for the wonderful partnership between EBR Parish Library System, University Presbyterian Church, and the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education.
On the last day of reading camp, the children were surprised with books and school supplies that were purchased with a 20% discount from Barnes and Noble with funds from the University Presbyterian Church Mission and Peacemaking Committee. The children also enjoyed snacks and a pizza party provided by the EBR Parish Library System. Dr. Skinner said, “Words cannot fully capture the joy-filled rooms at Carver Branch Library that afternoon when the Carver Cubs Reading Camp children received numerous children's books on topics that they had self-selected. We had never seen them that excited; it felt like Christmas morning. Parents and siblings also attended the pizza party celebration. Such a consequential and long-standing partnership!”
About Lutrill and Pearl Payne LSU School of Education (SOE)
A school of the College of Human Sciences & Education, the SOE offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. Besides providing graduate certification in Instructional Coaching, educational technology, and urban & community education, the SOE offers a writing pedagogy minor, and a master’s degree in arts, arts in teaching, education (MEd), education in counseling (MEd), certificate of education specialist (EdS) and PhD. The School’s mission is to prepare educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners, and scholars knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues. Visit the LSU Lutrill and Pearl Payne School of Education.
About LSU College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE)
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Library & Information Science, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and 7 online graduate degree and/or certificate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate and 1,120 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan. Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education.
Latest College of Education News
- Louisiana A+ Schools Now Accepting Applications for the Fall 2025/2026 School YearLAA+ at LSU enables schools to integrate arts education into their curriculum. Learn more about this innovative arts education program and the 2025/2026 application.
- School of Education Faculty Host the Mandela Washington Fellows in New OrleansLSU was selected as an Institute Partner for the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The Fellows engaged with Louisianians to establish meaningful professional networks in the state. During their recent trip to New Orleans, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, a professor at the School of Education, hosted them at her home for a fish fry
- LSU Writing Project Participates in Place-Based Writing RetreatThe LSU Writing Project held its first place-based Invitational Summer Institute on Mallard Island in the Rainy Lake Watershed, north of International Falls, Minnesota. Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, director of the LSU Writing Project, received a grant from the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation to host the week-long writing institute.
- Ellis Puts Scholarship First- $1.2M NSF Grant to Recruit and Prepare Future STEM TeachersAt the center of the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education is the desire to prepare LSU students to educate the young minds of Louisiana to ensure their future successes.Joshua Ellis, PhD, Associate Professor of Science/STEM Education in the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, is a member of an LSU faculty team that has been awarded a $1,187,387 grant from the National Science Foundation for the preparation of future STEM teachers.
- School of Education Professor Presents Research at Inaugural Joint National Council Teacher of English-National Council Teachers of Mathematics ConferenceLutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Professor, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, recently presented cutting-edge research on writing assessment at the Inaugural Joint National Council Teacher of English (NCTE)-National Council Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Conference held in New Orleans in late June, 2024. Both professional organizations collaborated to provide the opportunity for members from both associations to come together and share research and recommend practices in both disciplines, a first for these two premier professional entities.
- Louisiana A+ Schools at LSU and Arkansas A+ Schools Receive Grant from National Park Service to fund: Bridging the Blues! Connecting Music Heritage in Arkansas and Louisiana through A+.Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) at Louisiana State University (LSU), a program of the College of Human Sciences and Education, in partnership with Arkansas A+ Schools (ARA+) at University of Arkansas, a program of the College of Education and Health Professions, are proud to announce they have received a grant from the National Park Service (NPS). This grant is part of the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative (LMDI), aimed at supporting cultural heritage and educational projects in the Delta region.
