Louisiana's students getting a fresh look at career options

The state of Louisiana doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to attracting (or retaining) fresh young talent. However, there’s a concerted effort underway to change that and the results are starting to show in big ways. Mary Beth Derrickson is Education Workforce Policy Director with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and says Louisiana’s future is looking bright recently.

“Some very exciting news coming out of the Department of Education last week showed that we are not only #1 in literacy growth across the entire country, we’re also #1 in overall growth since the pandemic,” Derrickson emphasized. She also noted that Louisiana ranked #2 in numeracy growth across the entire country as well.

Derrickson points to recent implementation of a literacy screener in 2023 that would allow children to repeat 3^rd grade if needed and the same screener for math in 2024 as major reasons for the improvement in student numbers.

She also notes that early exposure to the workplace and the ability to explore career options early can go a long way in setting up high school students for future success. “Walker High School and Lafayette High School have employers on campus so student workers can work as baristas, etc, doing jobs on-site. They also have a credit union on-site. It’s just a good opportunity for students to get early workplace experience,” Derrickson added.

"We want to make sure that our kids are aware of the opportunities that are right in our backyard. It's critical that especially those high school students realize they don't have to go to Texas or Mississippi to get a good job; they can stay right here in Louisiana," she went on to emphasize.