Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

New research finds that charter schools are having a positive impact on the state's education system.

We're also going to take you inside Louisiana's old governor's mansion for a look at recent renovations.

Plus, I'll sit down with the Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards, to talk about plans to deploy National Guard troops in several cities.

And our series continues with a look at the history of rabbit hunting in Louisiana.

We're ready.

So if you're ready, let's get started.

Let's do it.

Okay.

Good.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Christina Jensen, and I'm Victor Hall.

Much more on those top stories in a moment.

On this week's edition of Louisiana, the state we're at.

But first, after Hurricane Katrina, the state took over most of the public schools in the New Orleans area.

Now, 20 years later, a new study shows a transition to charter schools has really boosted academic performance.

And these charter schools are starting to expand to other areas of the state.

Karen LeBlanc has more.

In November 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco advocated during a special legislative session the state takeover of the New Orleans public school system, given autonomy to allow schools to do what is right for that particular group of kids or that community they serve as important.

Doctor Sharon Clark serves as the charter director of the Sophie B Wright High School in New Orleans, and represents district two on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

We didn't have to worry about that systemic issue of the bureaucracy of all these people talking and nothing getting done.

And so I think that we just have to change our mindset and become more free in what we're thinking when we serve kids all across the state and all the states.

And autonomy is very important in schools.

At the time of the takeover.

The New Orleans school district was struggling under bankruptcy, FBI investigations and nearly 1 billion in unmet needs.

A report from Tulane University's nonprofit thinktank, the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans, studied the post-Katrina reforms.

Its policy brief New Orleans post-Katrina School Reforms 20 Years of Lessons concludes that the charter school experiment is producing results.

When you look at the student outcomes that we're able to measure, such as high school graduation and college enrollment, student test scores, we saw a vast improvement, especially after the first decade of the reforms, and it was really the type of reform that we haven't seen anywhere that that type of increase in test scores and in student outcomes is really something you don't see.

Carroll, a researcher and former teacher at a New Orleans charter school with teach for America, says those gains held steady across multiple indicators.

When we tracked students from New Orleans and similar students outside of New Orleans and their student outcomes and test scores, we found that they rose 10 to 15 percentage points.

We saw similar outcomes for high school graduation and college enrollment.

Where students were going 10 to 15 percentage points higher than they were before the storm.

In 2018, the state voted to return New Orleans charter schools to the oversight of the Orleans Parish School Board.

These schools, run by nonprofit organizations, are held accountable through strict performance metrics.

The system isn't perfect.

There are challenges and inequities still to address.

There's a small number of schools that everyone wants to go to, and they can't accept.

Every student.

And there certain aspects of that that make it so that students who aren't getting into the schools they want to ended up at lower rated schools.

So we need more high rated schools, and they need to be located equitably across the city.

One of the criticisms of the charter school takeover was that it brought in teachers from the outside who did not have the cultural understanding of the student population, and that there was a disconnect in the classroom that the teachers couldn't relate to.

The students.

The students couldn't relate to the teachers.

What did you find in this study?

I knew nothing about the district.

I knew nothing about the culture of the city.

I came here to try and help.

Little did I know that I was actually taking the job of a veteran teacher who now did not have a job to return to, which was deeply unfortunate.

New Orleans students rate their teachers only 50% for caring compared to students about nationally, about 63%.

That's a problem.

The New Orleans charter school system has become a national model for large scale education reform, but its context is unique.

The post-Katrina influx of funding, volunteers and idealistic educators created conditions that may not be replicated elsewhere across Louisiana.

School choice is on the rise.

The Louisiana Department of Education has secured 13.5 million in federal funding to strengthen charter programs and improve student outcomes in reading, math, attendance, and college and career readiness.

The Louisiana Gator Scholarships, structured as an education savings account, allows eligible families to use state funds for approved education expenses, including private school tuition and tutoring.

There is mixed results on prior voucher programs.

Some some had found success.

Some did not find success, like the one in Louisiana.

We have found movement in enrollment, but a lot of what's been happening with this essay laws is students currently in private schools are getting money to stay in private schools, and it's not as much students moving from a low performing public school into a private school, which is what I think the kind of hope and ideal behind these new state laws is.

The New Orleans Charter School District remains an outlier in the national movement, but the data shows undeniable improvement.

This is the second year in a row that we have not had a failing school in the city of New Orleans, and that is that is huge.

That's great.

Now let's take a look at what's trending this week.

Victor, a big topic a lot of people are talking about former LSU football player Kyron Lacy, who was involved in a deadly crash back in 2024.

On Monday, his lawyer released a footage of the crash, a particular angle and it shows Lacy was about 72 yards behind the crash.

And his lawyer says he couldn't have been responsible.

That was done on a TV station down in Homa.

Then state police responded and they released an 11 minute video defending their investigation.

Troopers say his reckless driving triggered a chain of events that led to the deadly crash, and they also stood behind the way the Da had been handling this case up to this point.

Yeah.

So what are the next steps?

Well, Attorney General is Merle says she's going to be reviewing the case and is expected to release her findings soon.

But the one thing we know, it's a tragic story all the way around, two lives are lost.

We'll see how things develop.

There is definitely.

All right.

And do you remember an iconic theme song?

Reading rainbow.

I played it for you early.

Yeah, I don't remember.

You're eating right.

The girl.

I know you do it.

Now, I love this show.

It's actually going to come back, and I'm so excited.

Yeah, it was a fantastic show.

The show actually, believe it or not, 26 years on PBS, it won more than 250 awards, including 26 Emmys and a Peabody.

Yeah, and the new host as a social media influencer, has over 2 million people following him.

His name is Michael Fritz and he is very excited to be coming on as the new host.

Somebody who's been around books a whole a lot very encouraging about the reading.

So as he got into the profession because of the original Reading Rainbow that was hosted then by LeVar Burton.

So the first season will run for four episodes and it will air on the Kids Echo YouTube channel.

Can't wait for it.

I know you'll be like, right, let's get back to Louisiana.

Some news here about one of our bigger, more famous buildings in our state.

Louisiana's old governor's mansion, you might know, is known as the Louisiana White House for its architectural similarities to the real white House.

It now houses a museum showcasing decades of legends, lore, and living history.

Carol Ball joins us once again and takes us on a tour.

Louisiana's own version of the white House resides in downtown Baton Rouge.

Born of Governor Haley Long's presidential ambitions, the Old Governor's Mansion is a stately example of Georgian architecture with neoclassical influences.

Designed by the New Orleans firm Weiss, Dreyfus and Seaforth, the same architects who would later design the Louisiana State Capitol.

The mansion was built in 1929 by Governor Huey Long.

And this house is where nine Louisiana governors lived.

It's called Louisiana's White House because it is built very much like a mini white House.

We have East Room, we have West Wing for offices and it's a very similar stylistic, very you see a lot of symmetry than our classical style.

So we are very excited to give you a tour and show you everything that we have.

Marble floors, crystal chandeliers and intricate plasterwork in the ballroom reflect the grandeur of Huey Long's era.

The formal dining room, adorned with hand-painted woodblock wallpaper, offers a rare and richly detailed pictorial glimpse and a history.

It's called Scenic America, and it's a Zuber wallpaper.

It's French and there are only three of these.

And, United States.

One is here, one is at the white House, and the other one is at the Brown University.

So we are very proud to display this wallpaper the way that it has been installed is very unique.

As you see, there are several blocks and there are different parts of the states.

The first floor library played host to visitors and provided an escape for Governor Huey Long.

Karen, one of the best things about this room is the secret staircase that Governor Kewpie long actually made into the built into this mansion.

So whenever he didn't want to see the visitors and he wanted an escape room, he could directly go to his bedroom on the second floor.

So I would love to show you the handle.

Didn't used to be here.

They used to just press a nice blend in and this would open.

And after you, we got to go with the secret staircase.

Of course.

This is the Huey P long room.

This is the master bedroom in the mansion.

And this is exactly.

All of his artifacts are a place as if he was living here.

Obviously, other governors use that when they were here, but this is very much of it.

Original room.

And we try to keep it.

But the painting on the wall from his sister and a lot of his pajamas and his personal art to packed the old governor's mansion, was commissioned by Governor Philip Long in 1930 and built on the side of the former governors residence on North Boulevard, known as the Knox House.

He was granted $150,000 to build this beautiful mansion during the Great Depression, and another 22,000 for it.

Drapes for the decorations and chandeliers and other many other original items that you see in the mansion.

The Old Governor's Mansion chronicles the lives of Louisiana's chief executives who served from 1930 to 1963.

Each bedroom offers an intimate glimpse into their daily lives, the way they lived, the personal touches they cherished, and the stories preserved within these walls.

This is our long hour.

Long is the brother of Huey P long, and he was a governor for three terms.

Three nonconsecutive terms.

Okay, I got to ask, why is there a fur coat here in the corner?

That's an interesting question.

One of the other colorful stories of, Louisiana.

He had a famous affair with, a stripper named Blaze Star.

And this is a fur coat of a blaze that's, this story is, we doubt the accuracy.

Hundred percent accuracy.

But the story is that the, wife finds that puts it in the washing machine.

And, that's why, it's not very pristine looking.

That's why it looks a little matted.

Right?

There.

Jimmy Davis, the last governor to reside in the mansion, served two nonconsecutive terms as Louisiana's governor from 1944 to 48 and again from 1960 to 64.

Today, his bedroom remains much as he left it.

The bed draped with a quilt made of ties sewn by his mother in law and a closet full of the couple's clothing.

As if time stood still, many people know him because he made the song You're My Sunshine famous, and some think it's his wife, sunshine or love her, but actually he loved his horse so much that he named it sunshine.

And this is the most interesting saddle for, sunshine that we are displaying here.

We end our tour of the house that Huey built in the Oval Office, where the curving walls are painted green.

Huey Long's favorite color.

A lot of people with the name, they think that this is an office.

It's never been an office, but it's an oval shaped throne, just like the white House.

And it has been where the families actually sat, had two kids, played piano, and, they hosted games and things of that sort.

What do you want the visitor experience to be?

So of course we want it to be fabulous.

It's a beautiful architectural and historic hall and landmark in Baton Rouge.

And not just for Baton Rouge, but for Louisiana.

Governor Jeff Landry's request to deploy National Guard troops in several Louisiana cities is drawing mixed reaction.

Some leaders are concerned the National Guard isn't trained to handle civilian policing, while others believe it would cut down on crime.

I spoke with East Baton Rouge Mayor President Sid Edwards for his take on the governor's plan.

Well, joining me now is East Baton Rouge Mayor President Sid Edwards.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Mayor.

It's my honor to be here.

So we're talking about the National Guard troops.

The governor Landry made the formal request from the federal government to deploy them to three cities Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport.

What are your thoughts on this?

Well, right off the gate, I'm for it.

I'm for them coming.

But I want to explain myself.

You know, we watch TV, we see what's happening in DC and other places.

They're deployed and all that.

Baton Rouge is not DC, you know, we're unique to ourself, our own culture, our own issues, our own problems.

So when I say I'm for it, we're 150 officer short and BPD.

We need help.

But I have a vision of what I want it to look like.

It's just I don't have enough Intel yet to know.

Can it look like I want it to look?

And what I mean by that is I just want a presence.

You know, they don't have arresting powers.

That's for our local officers to do.

I want the guard to, help me with my parades and with Mardi Gras and Christmas and maybe football games, all the way to helping with blight and some of the trash, maybe the homeless initiative.

So that's what I envision.

What?

I'm coming.

That's the guard that I don't want to come to Baton Rouge.

Let's talk more about the events.

Do you think that could impact the local economy, seeing the troops out there?

You know, a lot there's a worry about that.

And I understand that, you know, that people like, on the negative side, like having a military presence around.

What does that say?

What does it mean?

You know, I just don't think culturally in Baton Rouge, it would hurt.

I really don't.

Why do you think the governor chose Baton Rouge as one of the three cities?

Do you think there could be political motivation behind that?

Don't, I mean, people certainly people are going to, you know, think that way.

This is the capital city of Louisiana.

I'll give you an example.

I'm part of a Harvard Bloomberg class that is, and out of New York, and I partnered with the mayor of Wichita, Kansas, Lily Wu, and her concern was violent crime in our city.

So I asked Mayor Wu, I said, mayor, what is your, murder rate in 20?

You know, 24?

And she said 16.

Said 16.

We had 16 in January.

So it's all relative.

So here again, I can't speak for the governor, but for me, it's, boots on the ground and a presence.

You spoken to the police chief about it?

And the sheriff?

How do you see them working with the troops?

If they were to come?

Well, I think a big thing here's here's.

Okay.

When I talk about worries as well.

So when you take the National Guard, there's, a chance you could have a guy that they send down here from, say, Albuquerque, that is a pharmacist in Albuquerque, but he's a National Guard that doesn't know our town.

I think there's got to be some Intel and some, initial conversations about who we are and what we do and how to handle yourself.

You know, in our town.

Well, if National Guard troops are sent to a crime scene, could you see them making situations worse because they're not per se trained in that?

It could you know that there's a risk with that?

It could.

But what I would be counting on is working with Chief Morse, our PD and our sheriffs to to have some.

It doesn't take the place.

Our police officers are trained extensively.

Civil rights.

Not escalate de-escalating situations.

And the guard isn't necessarily trained for that.

So I would do if they're coming here, it would almost be like CliffsNotes, a cram course.

There's no guarantee.

But the expectation of me to them is to to work with our BPD and our sheriff's department to to make sure those situations don't happen.

What do you say to those that say, this is a waste of resources that crime is down.

There has been some, you know, speculation that they're only picking up trash in certain cities.

What would you say to those people?

I can tell you, I don't know the people that are saying that a waste of resources and all that.

Okay.

The reason the governor did the ass federally is for the federal government to pick up that deal.

So it's not going to come at the dam at the city, parish or the state.

Okay.

Now the governor has the right to call out the National Guard whenever.

And if he does, then we would pick up that bill.

You know, the state of Louisiana would have it.

So that's his technique.

By asking the president the the bring him.

But you pick up the check, right?

But at the same time, a waste of resources.

I've been in the hospital since I've been in office, tending to a mother whose five year old autistic child was caught in gunfire.

There's a seven year old murdered in Scotland, bill.

A young professional drive.

And through doing volunteer work, plumbing work in our city.

And he's caught in the crossfire.

Can more boots on the ground?

Can a presence can it alleviate some of that?

I don't know, but I'm willing to take a chance if it saves just one life.

All right.

Well, thank you so much for joining us.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Is my honor all right, mayor Edwards.

Our limited series or Don't Cook that continues this week showcasing foods unique to south Louisiana.

Yeah.

Drake Lavoie takes us to Broussard, Louisiana for a look at the history of rabbit hunting and some tips to make rabbit stew.

Welcome to Queen pop, a series where we dive into the odd dishes of South Louisiana.

Today I'm here and a little town called Bruce are right on the outskirts of Lafayette, and I'm here with my good friend Sean Bernard, aka Uncle Love.

What we got going on today, man, we first of all, it's a lovely day, right?

Know, a lovely day to always prepare something Creole.

We got some rabbit now for the people.

I guess I haven't had the chance to try rabbit before.

A lot, Pan, as we call it.

Can you describe the taste?

You know, everybody wants to release something that chicken like alligator tastes like chicken or something.

Tastes like I do that, you know, like chicken, right?

It's different when you taste rabbit.

You know what it is, and you never gonna forget it.

We know what kind of dish we're about to make with this little pan.

We're making a rabbit stew.

Something very traditional, very hearty.

What's next?

We gotta start prepping some ingredients.

Right.

The first thing you gotta do, man, you gotta stuffing while gain.

You gotta, gotta do it.

You gotta make it tender.

Garlic is the number one ingredient to any meat that you stuff.

Can't put too much garlic.

Yeah.

And and so after we stuffed this you're gonna put this in the pot first.

Do the onions go first.

Like what goes first?

Brown the meat.

So first thing you gonna do.

What, you gonna take the meat?

You go browning after you.

You put your stuff in real good.

Some people, they let it sit overnight with some Worcestershire sauce or whatever they used to marinate.

Right.

But, you know, hot temperature and a little water.

Oh, make any metal.

Right.

And some patience and some patience.

Right.

Now this this is stuff.

Right.

That garlic all on the inside of it.

So now when we go browning you will see it.

And that way it's not locking everything in man with mercury is going to be good.

Oh it's gonna be so good you know.

Yes, indeed.

So how do we end up putting these things out?

Some people consider pets.

If we look back at our ancestors.

Right.

You know, working in a sugarcane, working in the fields, the cotton fields, the Cherokees and things like that.

That's what rabbits live.

So, of course, it was in abundance.

So what better way?

If you working in a field, you can hit a rabbit with a stick.

And they brought food home.

So a lot of the of my like grandparents we listen to them tell stories about how they got rabbit, how they got lucky.

And it wasn't with a gun, as with a stick running at them.

With a stick, you hit them in the head with a stick and that was it.

Wow.

And they bring them on a on the hip so they would take them.

They would cut a slit by the foot and had string it through a belt.

So you'd have the rabbits along your waistline.

I don't think you'd walk in this area, do you?

Do you rabbit hunt yourself?

Do you go out and hunt rabbit?

Yes, yes, yes, I hunt rabbit.

I had the opportunity of taking my son and teaching him, you know, the the trade of, you know, trade of rabbit hunting.

Nowadays we have rabbit dogs.

Back in the day, you know, they ran in the grass and in the sugar cane and in fields, and it was able to jump them from their nesting patch and kill them.

Now we have rabbit dogs.

You know, it's amazing when hunting season comes.

It's like a it's a staple.

You see people with beagles, you see them with, their orange on in vehicles.

We be at gas stations and you see other crews and you go talk with them.

And then now you build that relationship and it's so multicultural.

So now the rabbit is stuffed.

Yeah.

As brown and brown and down and down.

All right y'all.

So we've been here.

The Le Pen, the rabbit, the Louisiana rabbit has been in the pot has been stewing for you out.

Right.

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

You can't rescue, you can't rush it.

Oh, no.

Because if you rush, it is going to be not tender.

You're not going to get the well balanced to get your gravy.

Right.

You got to let it take its time.

We put all his work.

Now it's time to put it on a put it over some rice.

Now for you.

Oh, yes.

The super tender, let's see what we got.

Been working all day.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

I tell you.

Yeah.

And it's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's beautiful within your sight right there.

Oh, yeah.

Look at that.

Yeah.

That's beautiful.

That's what I'm talking about.

I you just take you some green onion, onions.

You know, just kind of going there.

All right.

Go on in there a little bit.

And then I don't think I ever seen rabbit look that pretty on the plate, man.

Look at that.

That's impressive.

Taking time.

Wouldn't you brown it real good.

It's stuff.

I'm telling you.

It gonna be flavor through and through.

Sean, thank you for having us here today, man.

It's a pleasure.

It smells so good.

You took some of your your prized possession.

You know, not too many people are willing to go in the freezes in the past just for anybody.

So this is your all yours.

You see why they still why I still steaming is still smoking.

It's all you.

I'm so ready.

1010 little bro you know what you're doing I know what I'm doing.

I well that looked really good Victor.

But I've never tried Robin have you.

I have not and I got to be honest, if you came up to me and said hey would you like to try some rabbits?

Rabbits too.

My answer would be quip.

I don't cook that.

Don't cook that.

Well.

That is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB any time.

Wherever you are with our LPB app, you can watch LPB news and public affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please take a moment and like us on Facebook, on zoom, and on Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Christina Jensen and I'm Victor Hall, and my chance to say congratulations.

Welcome to LPB.

Christina.

It's great to have you.

And until next time, that's the state we're in.

You.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together, we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and by Mary Bird Perkins, cancer Center.

Visit Baton Rouge and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.