Last fall, during the Chamber Board Retreat, incoming 2016 Chair Janice Bolton stressed the importance of the Chamber and business community providing more support and becoming more involved in the K12 educational system.  Our students and our communities deserve the best, but we are falling short.

The Chamber has worked for years to help fund and implement STEM initiatives like PLTW (Project Lead the Way) and related summer camps, middle school math programs, robotics and more.  We have coordinated with and encouraged dual enrollment between Natchitoches Central High School and the Northwest Louisiana Technical College.  We have introduced programs like the C4M (Certificate for Manufacturing) to the school system and Technical College and worked with each to create a hybrid program.  However, despite the success of these programs—and recent increases in District scores—the average ACT scores in Natchitoches remains behind state and national levels.

Our local graduation rate has risen over the past several years, but it, too, remains too low.  Too many children and young adults are finding themselves outside the system, with no diploma—and little hope of financial security.  There has been a strong push across the state to increase the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) class offerings; with passing AP scores providing college credit, the availability of these classes can help families reduce college costs.  Unfortunately, some districts have let the offerings lapse; last year, one AP class was offered in Natchitoches parish.  From the reported numbers, it is reasonable to surmise that only a handful of students in Natchitoches Parish scored high enough to receive any credit.  Are we happy with this?  Probably not—but are we, as parents and community leaders, actually aware of this?  And if we are aware, why are we not working with our schools for better results?

Scoring Mastery on state tests indicates you have demonstrated the skills necessary to advance to the next grade; Basic means you have not mastered the subject, but rather, you have demonstrated a rudimentary knowledge of the subject matter.  In Louisiana, 27 percent of students have scored at Mastery for their grade level and in Natchitoches Parish, that number is 24 percent.  Louisiana can do better and Natchitoches can do better.  The good news is we are doing better.  But we have got to keep pushing for better and better until we know our children can challenge anyone—not just others in their graduating class, but graduates from around the region, the country and the world.

Over the next few months, the Chamber Board will be working with its membership, the Natchitoches Young Professionals, and other interested citizens, educators, community leaders and groups to develop a set of long-term goals.  We hope these goals, established with input from the community, can be a guide for our parents, our community and our elected education leaders as we work together to improve the lives of our most precious assets:  our children.

I hope you will join us in this endeavor.  This is not a blame game; this is a wake-up call.  This is not a time for excuses; this is a time for bold, positive change.  This is our chance to define the future and make it a reality.  Our future, if we are to have one, must be one centered on the education of ALL children, in such a way that ALL children can achieve to a level that makes them competitive with anyone in the world for any role.  To demand less is to sabotage our kids, our community, and our future.