A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA TO MAKE THE NEW ISTROUMA HIGH SCHOOL A FABULOUS SUCCESS. Once you read this idea, you will instantly know that it will work! (LOL, hows that for a build up?) Instead of closing Istrouma High School for one year and phasing in a new class each year starting with the 9th grade in 2015 (as has been proposed by the Recovery School District), we should re-invent Istrouma High School to take advantage of what is really going on right now in this state. We are on the verge of the greatest boom in the history of Louisiana! More than $70 billion in new industrial construction has been been announced. This new construction and tens of thousands of new jobs will center around the availability in Louisiana of low cost natural gas. Refineries will be built to convert natural gas directly to gasoline, which will end our dependence on foreign oil. The economic impact will be beyond anything we have ever seen, and the need will be for trained personnel. Those personnel will either be hired in Louisiana or from out of state. I propose that Istrouma be re-opened in the fall of 2014 with a focus on the petrochemical industry. It would be named Istrouma High School — Petrochemical Magnet Program. This program would train young people in the basics of English, math, science, and social studies but would also train them to work specifically in the petrochemical industry. Upon graduation, students would be able to get good, high-paying jobs in this industry. We would work with the petrochemical industry to design the curriculum and encourage a plan whereby students could begin working in industry right out of high school while also continuing their education in this field at LSU, Southern or BRCC. We would stress high achievement in all academic subjects but also in athletics and extracurricular activities. Istrouma should be the best in football, basketball, track, baseball, band, Student Council, Key Club, drama, debate, and countless other activities, just as it was in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The Recovery School District would have to find a charter provider that would pick up on this idea and make it a reality. The school could draw students from throughout the Baton Rouge area. It has the potential to draw students of all races and achievement levels, because almost everyone is interested in having a high-paying job. The history of North Baton Rouge and Istrouma High is founded on the petrochemical industry. Thats our culture and heritage. Today, more than ever in the past, this industry offers opportunity for our young people if they are prepared to take advantage of it. A Petrochemical Magnet Program is something our alumni would eagerly embrace and encourage their own children and grandchildren to attend, regardless of where they reside in the Baton Rouge area. I intend to present this idea to Chas Roemer, president of BESE, at a meeting this week. What do you think? capitalcitynews.us/?p=257
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 07:05:04 +0000
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