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+.
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) at Louisiana State University, 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.
Louisiana A+ Schools and Arkansas A+ Schools are committed to enhancing education through arts integration. This grant will support a new initiative focused on integrating Music Heritage, particularly the soulful rhythms of the Mississippi Delta Blues, into classroom curricula across both states.
"We are thrilled to receive this grant, which will enable us to celebrate and preserve the rich musical heritage of the Mississippi Delta. By integrating Blues and Music Heritage into our curricula, we are not only enriching students' educational experiences but also fostering a deeper connection to the cultural history of our region. This collaboration with Arkansas A+ Schools exemplifies our commitment to innovative arts integration and underscores the transformative power of music in education," Bethany Hager, Director of LAA+ Schools at LSU, said.
Key project components include the development of a database of lessons plans that will celebrate regional Blues Heritage and be accessible to birth-12 teachers in both states and training for birth-12th grade teachers on how to integrate the arts in their classrooms to introduce the history of Blues/Music Heritage in our states.
Louisiana A+ Schools and Arkansas A+ Schools look forward to the positive impact this project will have on students and educators, preserving and promoting the rich musical heritage of the Mississippi Delta region.
For further information, please contact Louisiana A+ Schools at Louisiana State University College of Human Sciences and Education's Bethany Hager or Arkansas A+ Schools at University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions's Alyssa Wilson.
About Louisiana A+ Schools
Louisiana A+ Schools, a program of the LSU College of Human Sciences and Education,
is a teaching training model available for schools across our state. Imagine a school
bursting with creativity, where students learn about the water cycle through ballet,
explore geometry by studying artist Frank Lloyd Wright, and learn fractions through
music; a school where teachers feel invigorated to teach, students are excited to
learn, and imagination oozes from every classroom. These types of schools exist throughout
Louisiana because of (LAA+), a teacher training model that utilizes arts integration
to transform schools. Once an entire faculty is committed to change and votes to adopt
LAA+, schools begin their journey by participating in customized and intensive professional
development. Schools are introduced to the A+ Essentials a framework of eight commitments
an A+ school must make in order to experience change. Some of these include creating
a culturally-rich school climate; increasing cross-curricular planning time for teachers;
and having administrators establish a supportive infrastructure that encourages teachers
to stray outside the walls of “teaching to the test” and venture into the boundless
world of arts integration.
Visit the Louisiana A+ Schools website.
About 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 Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. 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 website.
About the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne 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. In addition, SOE offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master’s
degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of
focus. SOE’s focus is not only on preparing highly qualified teachers but also in
preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies scholars, educational technology
experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals, school counselors, and
clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly expertise regarding pressing
educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the LSU Lutrill and Pearl Payne School of Education website.
Latest College of Education News
- 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.
- LSU’S LUTRILL & PEARL PAYNE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NAMESAKE CELEBRATEDAt the center of the LSU College of Human Sciences and Education is the innate desire to #GeauxChangeLives. Today, we celebrate changemakers Lutrill and Pearl Payne, who tirelessly advocated for all LSU students to be treated with justice and respect, regardless of the color of their skin.
- Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Faculty Present at National Association for the Education of the Young Child Professional Learning Institute in New OrleansProgram faculty from the School of Education collaborated and presented at the recent National Association for the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC) Professional Learning Institute, held in New Orleans in June. The NAEYC's Professional Learning Institute brought together seasoned and emerging early childhood professionals and leaders in a community of learners. Approximately 200 sessions were held over 4 days, featuring individuals and teams from across the nation who focused on deepening the early childhood knowledge base, addressing challenging and controversial issues facing the field, and developing skills to improve professional development and practice.
- Recent Graduate, Adronisha Frazier, PhD, Selected as a STEM Student Success Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Minnesota-DuluthAdronisha T. Frazier, PhD, has been selected as a STEM Student Success Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. Frazier earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Science Education in Dec 2023. Selection of STEM Student Success Postdoctoral Fellowships was highly competitive and Frazier was selected from a field of potential candidates. Frazier will resign her position as Assistant Professor of Biology at Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC) and as the Natural Sciences Department Chair, and she will assume her postdoctoral fellowship in July 1, 2024.