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LAPCS Wins Coveted Economic Development Partner of the Year Award

  • Writer: Harmony Hobbs
    Harmony Hobbs
  • Oct 22, 2024
  • 2 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 22, 2024


Contact: Harmony Hobbs

(205) 901-4900


BATON ROUGE, LA—The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded LABI’s 2024 Economic Development Partner of the Year Award! 


This award, presented by b1BANK, recognizes exceptional economic development or business organization leadership. It honors exemplary individuals and companies in the state who demonstrate commitment and contributions to Louisiana’s business climate while also playing an integral role in their local communities’ growth and sustainability. 


That’s us.


“It is an honor to receive the Economic Development Partner of the Year Award from LABI,” said LAPCS Executive Director Caroline Roemer. “For over 17 years, we have worked to expand education choices for Louisiana families and improve academic outcomes for students. This award is the culmination of hard work and a relentless focus on making Louisiana a better place to live, learn, and work.” 


During the legislative session, LAPCS' passage of the Charter School Corporate Partnerships bill (Act 172) positively impacted education in Louisiana and made our state more attractive to businesses. The bill, authored by Rep. Kim Carver, permits charter schools with community-corporate partnerships to apply directly to BESE to serve students across a region instead of being limited to serving students from only one parish. It also permits up to 50% of the school’s seats to be reserved for business employees' children. 


This law will not only help diversify and expand public school options for Louisiana families but will also help prepare students for career and college success through mission-aligned corporate resources while answering the age-old economic development question of where employees can send their children to school.


What does that mean? 


The bill permits corporate charter schools to enroll students statewide, expanding school choice and economic development opportunities across the state. It’s a win-win for all, based on the successes of our state’s four existing charter school community-corporate partnerships to date: 


  • BASIS-Materra partnership with Women’s Hospital in Baton Rouge

  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy in Jefferson Parish

  • Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery 

  • Edward Hynes Charter School with UNO in New Orleans


LAPCS, led by Executive Director Caroline Roemer, will accept the award at the Louisiana Business Excellence Awards luncheon on November 20, 2024. For ticket information, click here.




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The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

organization whose mission is to improve education in Louisiana by supporting, promoting, and advocating for excellent public charter schools. Learn more about LAPCS at




 
 
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