WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Advance Baton Rouge addresses recent issues

Advance Baton Rouge addresses recent issues

By Keitha Nelson - bio | email

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -With three schools under their belt and two more recently added, Advance Baton Rouge is growing. It appears that they are also going through some "growing pains".

Advance Baton Rouge is a community based charter school. After the state's recent take over of several East Baton Rouge schools, Advance Baton Rouge was awarded Dalton and Lanier Elementary. But with their recent troubles--can the nonprofit handle  two more schools?

A few of Advance Baton Rouge schools were recently in the headlines with serious accusations.  A brawl broke out on the campus of Prescott Middle School, our camera's caught two people being taken into custody by Baton Rouge Police officers. Pointe Coupee Central High was put on lock down after a teacher over heard two students saying there may be a gun on campus, and  a Baton Rouge teenager accused of raping another teen at a local middle school. "The school takeovers are a brand new issue. They're a hot topic. Everyone is watching what we do. That's like living in a glass house." Annie Morrison with Advance Baton Rouge admits they've had their fair share of problems. But argues the issue's they're dealing with are not new to schools. "We've had this year to really learn and grow. We've learned from our mistakes."

With serious issues on their hands,currently tackling only 3 schools, we asked Morrison how they would be able to manage two more? "We had a very tight time frame last year so a lot of stuff that we had to implement and learn had to happen during the school year. Whereas this year we've already learned those lessons."

The non profit formed in 2005 relies heavily on community involvement. Advance Baton Rouge is working to get a handle on things and place themselves ahead of the curve. A few programs their working on include conflict resolution, parental involvement and campus crime stoppers. "There have been mistakes. We have not been 100 percent successful with our models this year. Given all of the diversity that we've had this year we are seeing positive results here in our schools." added Morrison.

Advance Baton Rouge aims to open up Dalton and Lanier Elementary in the fall of this year.