Mike Faulk Elected to Lead Louisiana Superintendents

CENTRAL — Central schools Supt. Mike Faulk has been elected president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintentdents for the coming year, which will add to his responsibilities but also to the prestige of the Central Community School System.  Faulk previously served as president of the association, when he was superintendent of schools in Morehouse Parish.

Supt. Faulk is now one of the oldest superintendents in the state, in terms of years of service.  With 18 years as a superintendent, he ranks No. 4.  Most superintendents are relatively new to their jobs.

As president of the association, he will represent superintendents in matters dealing with the governor and BESE.  He will chair the Superintendent’s advisory committee and serve on the Board of the Louisiana School for Math and Sciences in Natchitoches.  He will also appoint superintendents to serve on various bodies, such as the LHSAA, Teachers Retirement Board, the Governor’s Office on Accountability, and the High School Redesign Commission.  He will testify before the various committees of the legislature on education matters.

Faulk said the key issue facing superintendents today is finances.  “There’s been no growth in the Minimum Foundation Program in three years,” he said, “and that’s taken its toll on school systems.  It’s put more responsibility on schools systems without giving them any more resources.  Most school systems are losing pupils and thus state money.”

The second most important issue is school accountability, Faulk said.  The number of academically unacceptable schools has been growing, and also the number of charter schools.  The state has taken over a number of schools, but that effort has not shown great success, he said.

The third issue is school and district report cards.  Instead of one to four stars, schools and districts will get a letter grade of A to F.  “That will probably result in fights in some districts, as parents try to get out of under-performing schools and into better ones,” he said.  He said a flaw in the new system is that it does not take into account academic improvement.

The fourth issue is value-added assessment, he said.  It will look at growth by individual teachers.  “In this situation, you may show tremendous growth for a slow group and little growth for high group.”  This will be a two-year pilot study.

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News from the Central Community School System.

Insurance Premiums. Teachers will pay slightly more in their share of health insurance premiums this year.

Strategic Plan. The school board will start work on a Strategic Plan for the school system beginning in September.

More Options for Seniors. Seniors will have four new scheduling options this year: Industrial, Technical, General, and Academic.  These are in addition to four existing options for COE and DECA, Baton Rouge Community College, technical school, and internships.

Superintendent’s Evaluation. The school board has evaluated the Superintendent in a closed door session.  Supt. Faulk was rated between Satisfactory and Excellent.

Projected Enrollment. The projected enrollment for this fall in the Central Community School System is 4,060 students K-12 with an additional 120 in pre-K (4-year-olds) for a total of 4,160.

One Vacancy. With the downturn in the economy, the school system filled only one vacancy, a position at the high school for a graduation specialist, who is devoted to making sure every possible student graduates.

Opening Session. Teachers and staff will attend School Opening ceremonies at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 8 at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church.  Muriel Summers will speak on “Building global leaders, one student at a time”.

As principal of North Carolina’s A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School, Muriel Summers and her staff created the first leadership elementary school in the nation using Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits program as a foundation. A.B. Combs is a diverse elementary school, boasting children from 64 countries.  Muriel’s school has been featured on several national television programs including PBS, Good Morning America, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

New School Complex Construction.  The Central School Complex is now scheduled for completion in the spring of 2012.  The new Central Middle School and the new Central Intermediate School should be open in August 2012 for the start of the school year.

Future of Central Middle Campus. The future of the existing Central Middle School is still undetermined.  The fear is, it may be necessary to continue to use some of the facilities for awhile, because of enrollment growth at the high school.  “We are monitoring enrollment closely,” Supt. Faulk said.  “Right now, the enrollment at the high school is 1,300, which is high, while the middle school is at 940.”

Football Season. Supt. Faulk, a former high school football coach, said, “Good, dedicated football coaching staff.  We are going to surprise some people this year.”

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News