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In 2013, White took steps to bring Louisiana within the [[Common Core State Standards Initiative]], a five-year program commitment. Critics of the national curriculum claim that insufficient time has been given for teachers to prepare for the new standards. Some oppose a national approach and prefer that educational administration be left to the individual states or the school districts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2013/10/state_board_of_education_state.html|title=Sarah Tan, Common Core is here to stay, state education board says, October 16, 2013|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|accessdate=October 21, 2013}}</ref>
In 2013, White took steps to bring Louisiana within the [[Common Core State Standards Initiative]], a five-year program commitment. Critics of the national curriculum claim that insufficient time has been given for teachers to prepare for the new standards. Some oppose a national approach and prefer that educational administration be left to the individual states or the school districts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2013/10/state_board_of_education_state.html|title=Sarah Tan, Common Core is here to stay, state education board says, October 16, 2013|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|accessdate=October 21, 2013}}</ref>


In May 2013, White admitted that that letter grades awarded to high schools in the past had been inflated by as much as 7.5 percent. However, he repudiated claims that his office was responsible for the misleading information . White told a [[Louisiana State Senate]] committee that the problem had resulted from a flaw in the grading formula, with letter grades based on end-of-course examination scores. White said that a different formula has been implemented to correct the problem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbrz.com/news/education-officials-clear-up-grading-questions/|title=Zach Correa, Education officials clear up grading questions, May 30, 2013|publisher=WBRZ-TV|accessdate=September 21, 2013}}</ref>
In May 2013, White admitted that that letter grades awarded to high schools in the past had been inflated by as much as 7.5 percent. However, he repudiated claims that his office was responsible for the misleading information. White told a [[Louisiana State Senate]] committee that the problem had resulted from a flaw in the grading formula, with letter grades based on end-of-course examination scores. White said that a different formula has been implemented to correct the problem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbrz.com/news/education-officials-clear-up-grading-questions/|title=Zach Correa, Education officials clear up grading questions, May 30, 2013|publisher=WBRZ-TV|accessdate=September 21, 2013}}</ref>
White is paid $275,000 annually. He succeeded the interim superintendent, Ollie Tyler, an [[African American|African-American]] from [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], who was acting superintendent from May 2011, when the previous appointed superintendent, Paul Pastorek, resigned, until White assumed duties in January 2012.<ref name=notp/>White also has a $75,000-per-year press secretary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cenlamar.com/2012/09/28/louisiana-superintendent-john-white-hires-high-priced/|title=Lamar White, Jr., Louisiana Superintendent John White Continues to Shield Records on Voucher Program; Hires High-Priced PR Consultant to Lead Communications|publisher=cenlamar.com|accessdate=October 21, 2013}}</ref>
White is paid $275,000 annually. He succeeded the interim superintendent, Ollie Tyler, an [[African American|African-American]] from [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], who was acting superintendent from May 2011, when the previous appointed superintendent, Paul Pastorek, resigned, until White assumed duties in January 2012.<ref name=notp/>White also has a $75,000-per-year press secretary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cenlamar.com/2012/09/28/louisiana-superintendent-john-white-hires-high-priced/|title=Lamar White, Jr., Louisiana Superintendent John White Continues to Shield Records on Voucher Program; Hires High-Priced PR Consultant to Lead Communications|publisher=cenlamar.com|accessdate=October 21, 2013}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:38, 22 October 2013

John C. White
Louisiana Superintendent of Education
Assumed office
January 2012
Preceded byOllie Tyler (interim)
Personal details
BornNovember 1975
Place of birth missing
Reared in Washington, D.C.
Political partyIndependent
Residence(s)Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Alma materSt. Albans School

University of Virginia

New York University
OccupationEducational administrator

John C. White (born November 1975)[1] is the Louisiana state superintendent of education in Louisiana. A political Independent,[1] White was appointed to his current position in January 2012 by Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, with the goal of improving state schools and educational performance ratings. The state has 700,000 public school pupils and 50,000 teachers.[2]


Background

White was reared in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the son of a lawyer-father and a television journalist-mother. He has one younger brother and only sibling, an officer in the United States Navy. In his youth White had also considered becoming a Navy officer.[3] He graduated in 1994 from the exclusive private St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.[4][5]

White then received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1998 from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He later received a master's degree in public administration from New York University.[6] He attended Eli Broad's Superintendent's Academy, based in Oakland, California, which produces "wunderkind" school leaders who gain their credentials after ten weekends of instruction over a one-year period. White completed the program in 2010.[7]

Educational and political career

After his time at the University of Virginia, White signed up with the non-profit organization Teach For America, headquartered in New York City which places high-achieving recent college graduates and professionals to teach for at least two years in low-income communities.[8] TFA sent him to teach English for three years at the large William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was thereafter an educational administrator in Chicago, where he met the current United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.[3] In 2006, White joined the leadership team of then chancellor of the New York City Department of Education Joel Klein, who managed the largest school district in the nation from 2002 to 2010. As deputy chancellor, White led the attempt to revive more than one hundred failing schools and to establish new charter schools. In this position, he also was a negotiator with the United Federation of Teachers.[6]

In May 2011, Jindal named White to head the Recovery School District in New Orleans, a state agency created in 2003 that supervises those public schools declared failures based on recurring poor pupil performance. White reorganized the RSD central office and included neighborhood groups in the decision-making process. Through a $2 billion school rebuilding plan pushed by White, pupils by the year 2016 in the RSD should benefit from new or renovated campuses.[2]

White's appointment was approved by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, an elected and appointed body that sets state educational policies. Confirmation was assured by a nine-to-one vote, with one abstention. The lone dissenter was Lottie P. Beebe, a conservative Republican educator from Breaux Bridge. According to Beebe, a critic of Jindal's educational policies, "Credentials and experience do matter. The governor's nominee [White] lacks a great deal of both in my opinion."[9] During the roll-call vote on White's appointment, Beebe said "emphatic 'No.'" Other board members spoke highly of White and cited his "ability to bring disparate groups together and his track record around the country."[9]

White's appointment was endorsed by U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan, a Democrat and former Chicago superintendent, who describes him as "a visionary leader who has done great things in New York City and New Orleans ... and will do the same for the whole state of Louisiana."[10] The Louisiana Association of Educators, a teachers' union, voiced objections to White's appointment, having called for a broader search for qualified candidates. LAE president Joyce Haynes said that White's support for additional charter schools, the institution of educational vouchers, and a revised teacher evaluation model are troubling to many educators.[10]

White soon unveiled the "Louisiana Believes", program designed to put each child on a path to college and career.[6] He announced $5 million in federal "Believe and Succeed" professional development funds to train educators on the proper methods to reverse failing schools. The grants cover a year of advanced training for new school leaders.[11]

In 2013, White took steps to bring Louisiana within the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a five-year program commitment. Critics of the national curriculum claim that insufficient time has been given for teachers to prepare for the new standards. Some oppose a national approach and prefer that educational administration be left to the individual states or the school districts.[12]

In May 2013, White admitted that that letter grades awarded to high schools in the past had been inflated by as much as 7.5 percent. However, he repudiated claims that his office was responsible for the misleading information. White told a Louisiana State Senate committee that the problem had resulted from a flaw in the grading formula, with letter grades based on end-of-course examination scores. White said that a different formula has been implemented to correct the problem.[13]

White is paid $275,000 annually. He succeeded the interim superintendent, Ollie Tyler, an African-American from Shreveport, who was acting superintendent from May 2011, when the previous appointed superintendent, Paul Pastorek, resigned, until White assumed duties in January 2012.[9]White also has a $75,000-per-year press secretary.[14]

White's tenure has aroused questioning from the radio talk show host Moon Griffon, who broadcasts statewide from a studio in Monroe. Griffon announced in October 2013, that he is "investigating" White to determine more about his background and credentials in education. "Who is John White?", Griffon asks.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Click John White, November 1975". voterportal.sos.la.gov. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "John White's appointment as Louisiana education superintendent assures continuity for reforms: An editorial, January 13, 2012". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Peter Meyer, The New Superintendent of Schools for New Orleans, Fall 2011". educationnext.org. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  4. ^ "View: Louisiana is smart to have these school fights, September 13, 2013". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Retrieved October 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "STA Alum John White '94 Named Louisiana's New Superintendent of Schools, January 2012". stalbansschool.org. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "John White Bio" (PDF). louisianaschools.net. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "Broad Superintendent's Academy". thebroadreport.blogspot.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  8. ^ Tenney, Garrett (January 10, 2010). "Obama pal Bill Ayers calls Teach For America 'a fraud'". Fox News. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Andrew Vanacore, State board of education votes overwhelmingly for John White as next state superintendent, January 11, 2013". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b name "John Cavanaugh, John White Appointed Chief of Louisiana Schools, January 11, 2012". Education Week. Retrieved October 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "State to use $5M to turn around failing schools, March 14, 2013". WBRZ-TV. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  12. ^ "Sarah Tan, Common Core is here to stay, state education board says, October 16, 2013". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Zach Correa, Education officials clear up grading questions, May 30, 2013". WBRZ-TV. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  14. ^ "Lamar White, Jr., Louisiana Superintendent John White Continues to Shield Records on Voucher Program; Hires High-Priced PR Consultant to Lead Communications". cenlamar.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  15. ^ The Moon Griffon Show, October 17-18, 2013
Preceded by
Ollie Tyler (interim)
Louisiana State Superintendent of Education

John C. White
2012–

Succeeded by
Incumbent

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