Education Leaders, Mayor to Launch “Capital Area Promise”

08/30/2018
BATON ROUGE – Leaders of Baton Rouge’s four largest education institutions are launching a new initiative to create more college and career pathways for students in the city and surrounding communities. The “Capital Area Promise” will connect several existing programs from each institution for a more cohesive impact on the Greater Baton Rouge area.

The official announcement will take place on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. at the City Hall Plaza in downtown Baton Rouge. Speakers include Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, LSU President F. King. Alexander, Southern University President-Chancellor Ray Belton, Baton Rouge Community College Chancellor Larissa Littleton-Steib, and East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Superintendent Warren Drake. They will be joined by local students and business leaders.

“This collaboration will make a real difference in the lives of Baton Rouge children, many of whom may not believe that higher education is a viable option for them,” Alexander said. “The Capital Area Promise demonstrates our collective commitment to ensuring a better future for our friends and neighbors streamlining and clarifying the most effective pathways to college and career readiness.”

The Capital Area Promise will be guided by five elements: promoting early childhood education, college tours for all middle school students, summer internships for youth, a pledge by students and parents, and guaranteed admission to a post-secondary or technical education.

To fulfill these goals, the institutions have collaboratively agreed to 10 strategies, including increase the percentage of high school students with dual enrollment credits, increase the number of postsecondary degrees and technical certificates, reduce barriers for college affordability and expand teacher preparation programs.

The Promise is modeled from the Long Beach College Promise, launched by Alexander in 2008, while president at California State University Long Beach. Since then, the Long Beach College Promise has received national recognition as an exemplar for education partnerships.

“We are ecstatic to partner with our local universities and public school system to help develop a workforce for the future,” Broome said. “I look forward to coming together to leverage existing programs in our community to develop innovative partnerships that drive positive changes for the future of Baton Rouge.”

For more information on the Capital Area Promise, contact Brandon Smith, LSU director of community and education partnerships, at 225-578-8699 or lsucup@lsu.edu.

 

 

Contact Ernie Ballard
LSU Media Relations
225-578-5685
eballa1@lsu.edu  

Southern University
Kimberly Scott
kimberly_scott@subr.edu  

Baton Rouge Community College
Kizzy Payton
paytonk2@mybrcc.edu  

East Baton Rouge Parish School System
Gwynn Shamlin or Taylor Gast
gshamlin2@ebrschools.org or tgast@ebrschools.org 

Mayor’s Office
Rachel Haney
rhaney@brla.gov