Louisiana Believe and Succeed
Overview: The Louisiana Department of Education is committed to providing pathways to a positive and productive future for the nearly 160,000 students who currently attend a D or F school in Louisiana. Over the last year much progress has been made; 40,000 fewer students matriculated to D and F schools in the fall of 2014 than in the fall of 2013. Yet, more must be done to ensure that every child has a pathway to productive citizenship within their community and within our state. To achieve this goal, the Louisiana Department of Education issues grants through Believe and Succeed: Louisiana's Initiative to Transform Struggling Schools.
History: Believe and Succeed grants empower Local Education Agencies to transform struggling schools into high quality, autonomous schools for students who would otherwise attend underperforming schools. Over the past two years, BESE has awarded over $13 million in Believe and Succeed grants to support school turnaround efforts, leadership development initiatives, and the launch of new autonomous schools across the state.
Program Update: 2015 Believe and Succeed grants will be funded through federal 1003g School Improvement funds (SIG-1003g). SIG 1003g will enable LEAs to apply for 3 to 5 year grants. LEAs may apply for funds to be spent at any current focus or priority school, which can be found on this list.
New Grants: The application and budget form for 2015 Believe and Succeed grants can be found on the right sidebar, along with federal guidance and the rubric against which grant applications will be evaluated. Applications are due by Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 3:00pm CT and should be submitted by email to David.Shepard@la.gov. LEAs must submit a PDF application narrative and an excel budget form for each school for which the LEA is applying for a Believe and Succeed grant. BESE will make Believe and Succeed allocations at its October board meeting.
Contact: Please email David.Shepard@LA.gov if you have any questions or are interested applying for a 2015 Believe and Succeed grant.