FAQs
1. Why does UL Lafayette need a lab school?
Improved Teacher Preparation: Teacher preparation programs at UL Lafayette can better develop teacher candidates by providing an immersive experience in a setting focused on trying new strategies and based on student need. While candidates will still complete their year-long residency in high needs schools around the Acadiana region, the lab school will serve as a safe place to implement and analyze new pedagogy.
Expanded Research: The lab school will allow UL Lafayette to expand its research activity by establishing a setting where university faculty can work with school administration to determine how research and school goals align.
Community Impact: Our goal is to develop a hub for educational innovation, where pre-service and in-service educators are encouraged to try new educational practices to share with fellow educators. Through voluntary partnerships, fellow Louisiana schools can implement strategies significant to their own context and report back on findings related to the implementation. Through a Collective approach to find systematic solutions, teams of researchers, practitioners, and education advocates will share learning to uncover ways to eliminate variables so that each “Core Practice” might become replicable in diverse settings. This work will be published for local, national, and international viewing.
2. What kind of support does the school have?
The UL Lafayette Lab School project is led by faculty in the College of Education and Human Development as well as a committee with representatives from each of the college’s four departments: Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Kinesiology. Steps in the development of the concept have been determined through collaborations with UL Lafayette administration, the University of Louisiana System, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Louisiana Department of Education.
The lab school also has full support from the UL System, UL Lafayette administration, Lafayette Parish School System,Vermilion Parish Schools, Iberia Parish School Board, Acadia Parish School Board, St. Mary Parish School Board, St. Martin Parish School Board, LSU College of Human Sciences & Education, Southeastern Louisiana University College of Education, Southern University College of Education, Louisiana Tech University College of Education, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Learning Forward Louisiana
3. How will you select students for the school?
The mission of our school is to advance educational equity, innovation, and opportunity for all Louisiana students. Our admissions policy aligns with our mission by seeking to establish and maintain a population of students which resembles the demographics of Louisiana. In order to ensure a diverse population, the admissions procedure will gather family information to determine eligibility for enrollment in each financial category to reflect demographics of the region.
4. Will you charge tuition? Why?
Yes, but the amount depends on family income. To cover operating costs of the school, we will use Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funds from the state (amount TBD through BESE) plus tuition, in the same way as the current lab schools at LSU and Southern. Because our laboratory schools only receive state MFP funds and no district MFP funds, tuition is used to bring the funds per student up to the same level as Louisiana public and charter schools. In order to have the school reflect the diversity of Acadiana, we anticipate the following tuition discount framework: approximately 60% of the student population pays full tuition, 25% pays half tuition, and 15% have no tuition except for a $500 fee paid as $50/month for 10 months. The tuition amount has not been set but will not exceed the state MFP allocation. No district tax funds will be taken from the district, so the tuition will replace what other public schools receive from district raised tax funds.
5. Will you take District tax generated funds from the District?
No. Operating costs will be covered through state MFP funds that follow the student, plus tuition. No District tax generated funds will be used. We are only receiving state MFP, and no local dollars raised through local taxes.
6. How will the MFP formula be determined?
The Louisiana Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are aware of our lab school development and will work on developing a formula for MFP allocation. It will likely resemble the state average MFP allocations, which are currently used for Southern and LSU.
7. How many students will the school serve?
We plan on having two sections per grade level with 22-24 students in each section as follows:
Year 1 176-192 (grades K-3)
Year 2 220-240 (grades K-4)
Year 3 264-288 (grades K-5)
Year 4 308-336 (grades K-6)
Year 5 352-384 (grades K-7)
Year 6 396-432 (grades K-8)
Year 7 596-632 (grades K-12)
8. How will you cover the capital outlay for the building?
To start, we will use existing facilities on campus. Future capital outlay will be through fundraising. No funds are requested from the state or district for capital outlay at this time.
9. How is this school going to impact public schools?
Our mission is to advance educational equity, innovation, and opportunity for all Louisiana students. We hope to realize this goal by spreading efforts to work toward this mission across Louisiana. Researchers and practitioners from diverse contexts will unite through Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) to develop, implement, and analyze school improvement strategies which will be made public for anyone to use.
Our teacher preparation program, one of the largest producers of teachers in the state, will improve in its ability to expose our candidates to the highest quality educational opportunities while preparing them in problem solving and design thinking processes to implement potential, student-centered change in their own contexts. These teachers will contribute to the current workforce needs of our Acadiana region.
10. How will you expand the lab school work with other schools in the state?
Once strategies are tested and analyzed in the lab school, scholars and practitioners from diverse contexts will unite through Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) to adapt, implement, and analyze school improvement strategies with reduced variables. These improvement strategies will be made public for anyone to use. Local and state schools are encouraged to use some of the lab school ideas, applied to their own contexts.
The learning does not end in the summer, as we will expand our community reach by offering summer programs for community children with scholarship offerings as well as professional development opportunities for teachers. The lab school will also open its doors during the summer to host Acadiana teachers interested in sharing their own work toward school, classroom, or student performance improvement.
11. How will the school impact teacher preparation?
Our teacher preparation program, the largest producer of teachers in the state, will improve in its ability to expose our candidates to the highest quality educational opportunities while preparing them in problem solving and design thinking processes to implement potential, student-centered change in their own contexts. These teachers will contribute to the current workforce needs of our Acadiana region.
12. How will the school conduct research?
Lab school administration will bridge the conversation between researchers and student/teacher interest. Students and parents at the lab school will have the choice to sign consent forms for studies meeting IRB requirements and deemed productive for school, classroom, or student performance improvement by shared governance decisions of administration and teachers. All research studies must be focused on student-centered improvement.
13. Will you offer transportation?
We are working with Lafayette Parish School System to determine a partnership that would allow the lab school to use the bus routes within the Lafayette High School Zone for potential lab school students. Anyone outside of this zone may still apply for admissions but would not receive free transportation.