Welcome to the Louisiana Department of Education
About the Louisiana Department of Education
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) provides guidance and support to all publicly funded early childhood centers and elementary and secondary schools in Louisiana. Specifically, the department provides tools and resources to schools and school systems to support classroom instruction, assessments, workforce development and college and career preparation. Additionally, the department provides families and the public with transparent reporting of center, school, and school system performance and quality through the Louisiana School Finder.
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Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)
The LDOE is the administrative arm of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). BESE was established by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. The Board is composed of 11 members: eight elected by the citizens of Louisiana’s eight BESE districts, and three appointed by the governor of Louisiana to represent the state at-large. Together, these members adopt and enact policies governing the elementary and secondary schools of Louisiana.
Louisiana's Education Priorities
Louisiana's education priorities maintain a clear focus on what matters most for academic achievement.
- Early childhood leading to kindergarten readiness
- Literacy instruction aligned to the Science of Reading
- Math instruction from foundational to advanced skills
- Opportunities ensuring a meaningful high school experience
- An effective teacher for every student
- Expand educational choice for students and families
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Louisiana State Superintendent
Dr. Cade Brumley
Dr. Brumley is a Louisiana native who has dedicated his career to serving children, parents, and educators.
Back to the Basics
Louisiana's Education Priorities
From being ready to learn on the first day of kindergarten to thriving in a career, college
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The LDOE facilitates over a dozen councils, committees, task forces, and other groups.
Winners are Piper Joan Cangelosi from University Laboratory School, Zachary Evans Cryer from Benton Middle School and Antavion Jacarri Moore from Ringgold High School
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Department of Education today named the 2020 Students of the Year and honored all 21 regional finalists for the prestigious award during a virtual ceremony.
The overall winners, one student from the elementary, middle and high school grades, were selected based on criteria that measure academic achievement, leadership skills, character, and for the first time this year, their career and technical education achievements.
"Congratulations to Piper, Zachary and Antavion for earning this recognition among all of our remarkable finalists," said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. "It takes dedication, sacrifice and talent to excel at the levels of these three young people. I'm proud to have them represent what's possible for students in Louisiana."
The 2020 Students of the Year are:
Elementary School (5th Grade)
Piper Joan Cangelosi attends University Laboratory School in the Louisiana State University System (Region 4). Piper says "faith, family and goals" have motivated her to overcome obstacles and achieve at high levels. She's twice earned perfect scores on the ELA portion of her state assessments and has a 4.0 GPA. Her teachers say she is an inquisitive, engaged student who motivates her peers and has a contagious appetite for learning. Piper is a leader on her school's basketball team, a talented pianist, has earned featured roles on stage and volunteers in the community through the Girl Scouts and her church.
Middle School (8th Grade)
Zachary Evans Cryer attends Benton Middle School in Bossier Parish Schools (Region 1). Zachary was named the Louisiana elementary student of the year in 5th grade. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his time in school, scored Advanced on his most recent state assessments and has already earned a 28 on the ACT. He credits his role as president of Student Government Association with opening doors to better serve and lead in the community. Zachary's other leadership roles include class spokesperson, cyber patriot team leader, Fellowship of Christian Athletes Student Leader and robotics team captain. Zachary is active in athletics and in the community. He organized a neighborhood collection drive for Operation Christmas Child.
High School (12th Grade)
Antavion Jacarri Moore is from Ringgold High School in Bienville Parish Schools (Region 1). Antavion graduated from high school having already earned an associates degree and certificate of general studies. He excelled in dual enrollment, AP and CTE coursework. He plans to major in biomedical engineering in college so he can become an orthopedic physician. Academically gifted, he's also a talented music student. Antavion represented Louisiana at the 2019 national 4-H conference, where he presented ideas on the future of agricultural leadership to the Department of Agriculture. In his community, Antavion attends the mayor's monthly meetings and updates citizens on new ordinances and events. He's also written a congressional bill on mandatory computer science curriculum in schools at the Citizenship Washington Focus.
The annual competition has multiple steps. First, all public and nonpublic schools are asked to submit one candidate from their student body. Students then compete with their peers at the school system level, and winners advance to the regional competitions.
At the regional level, students are selected based on criteria that measure academic success, career and technical achievements, leadership skills, character and service to their schools and communities. Regional selection committees also use student-made portfolios of accomplishments, along with student writing samples and interviews, to assess the communications and critical-thinking skills of each candidate.
View a list of all 2020 regional finalists.
Prior to selecting the three overall state winners, a state selection committee made up of K-12, higher education and community leaders also reviews the students' portfolios and writing samples and conducts interviews with them. This year, as a result of the ongoing public health crisis, student interviews were conducted online.
Learn more about the annual competition.
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