La. superintendent of education speaks in Cenla

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - Dr. Cade Brumley, the Louisiana Superintendent of Education, spoke at the North Rapides Business and Industry Alliance meeting on Monday, September 20.

During the meeting, Superintendent Brumley answered questions from the audience about a variety of topics regarding the Louisiana education system. He also told us how students in Louisiana were affected by Hurricane Ida.

“Initially we had over 300,000 kids that were out of school as a result of Ida, and as of today, we’ve got that number down to about 125,000, with more going back every single day,” said Dr. Brumley. “We did pave the way for displaced families if they landed anywhere across the state of Louisiana that they’d have the ability to enroll in local schools so that we could get those kids back into school as quickly as possible.”

He also spoke about preparing students not only for higher education but for the workforce as well.

“We have to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can to prepare kids that want to go to a university to be able to do that. We do that, one way, through strong relationships with community college partners and higher ed partners,” said Dr. Brumley. “The other part of the equation that we have to talk about is that we have diminished technical education for too long. We should be working to make sure that students can get a trade skill or craft where, if they are not electing to go to college, they can be ready to go to work.”

Rapides Parish School Board Superintendent Jeff Powell also spoke at the meeting. He commended the teachers and school workers of Rapides Parish for their efforts dealing with COVID-19.

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