Amy Jeffries

Analyst Cokie Roberts Steeped in Louisiana Politics

Amy Jeffries — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:31:06 +0000

NPR News Analyst Cokie Roberts grew up in Louisiana in the 1940 and 50s -- the daughter of Hale and Lindy Boggs, who both represented New Orleans in Congress.

Cokie was home, here in Louisiana yesterday, to deliver the keynote speech at LSU's commencement ceremony.

Before all the pomp and circumstance, WRKF's Amy Jeffries caught up with her.

'Wait, Wait' Host Talks of Bombs and Laughter

Amy Jeffries — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:56:30 +0000

As the host of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!, Peter Sagal, makes jokes about the news every week.

Game show hosts are typically not supposed to be part of the news.

But Peter Sagal ran the Boston Marathon as a guide for a blind runner, and a strange thing happened on the way past the finish line...

Baton Rouge's Family Definition Ruled Unconstitutional

Amy Jeffries — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:27:25 +0000

Since 1954, the definition of family has prohibited more than two people not related by blood, marriage, or legal adoption from sharing a house in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Committee Backs Delay of School Performance Score Changes

Amy Jeffries — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:21:39 +0000

Performance scores starting with the current school year are set to rely heavily on the ACT. Results from the college entrance exam would account for 25 percent of a public high school’s score.

School Counselor, Librarian Mandates to Stand

Amy Jeffries — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:56:13 +0000

The state's top school board has dropped plans to do away with requirements for counselors and librarians at public schools.

The Dept. of Education had recommended the change as part of a continuing push to give more flexibility to local administrators. The reversal came as a surprise to the dozens of critics who flocked to the BESE meeting to voice impassioned opposition Tuesday.

Whether Vouchers Short Public Schools Argued in La. Supreme Court

Amy Jeffries — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:45:21 +0000

Louisiana's state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in the case challenging the statewide school voucher program.

The justices' questions focused on whether the state constitution allows vouchers for private school tuition to be paid for through the MFP -- the formula used to calculate support for public schools.

Voucher Program Transforms Christian School

Amy Jeffries — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:58:51 +0000

Tuesday, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in a suit from local school boards and teachers unions wanting Louisiana's school voucher program thrown out.

The legal challenges came almost as soon as the program was passed last year as part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's education overhaul.

Despite that, Hosanna Christian Academy in Baton Rouge went all in.

The school took on almost 300 voucher students, nearly doubling its enrollment. And Hosanna is doing everything it can to make sure all those students can perform at grade level.

State Supt. Aims for Vouchers, With or Without School Funding Formula

Amy Jeffries — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 02:10:41 +0000

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is slated to approve the school funding formula next week. The new proposal, released Thursday, still pays for the voucher program with dollars that would otherwise go to local districts. But, state Supt. John White is pitching alternative financing that would skirt the formula.

Watching the Charter School Movement Play Out

Amy Jeffries — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:37:40 +0000

Journalist Sarah Carr spent a year chronicling the lives of a skeptical teenager, a fresh-faced teacher, and a veteran principal in three separate charter schools in New Orleans for her new book, “Hope Against Hope.”

Some of the same players who orchestrated the makeover of public education in the Crescent City after Hurricane Katrina are trying to do the same thing in Baton Rouge, without the prompting of a natural disaster.

Supporters of the movement hold up charter schools as the salvation of American education. Critics say the overhaul will lead to its ruination. What Carr found was a lot of gray.

Gearing Up for Bout Over Breakaway School District

Amy Jeffries — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:24:54 +0000

A constitutional amendment allowing for an independent school district in Southeast Baton Rouge fell fewer than 10 votes short of making it out of the legislature and onto the statewide ballot last year. The proponents, fed up with the shortcomings of the C-rated parish district, intend to try again. Opponents of the split are also readying for round two.