BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The 2022 JumpStart Convention kicked off Tuesday morning at the Cane’s River Center. The convention offers Louisiana educators knowledge on how to improve student college readiness.

Over 800 educators from all across the state showed up ready to learn, hoping to gain some new tools and tactics to utilize in their own schools and classrooms.

“I think that what we’ve done for students is evolve. In the past, we would say we wanted students to be college and career-ready, but we didn’t really know what that looked like and we didn’t really know how to get there. But we’ve developed some pathways and we’re making sure they get what they need before they graduate,” said West Carroll Parish Superintendent Christy Boyte.

State educators broke off into sessions to learn about effective classroom practices, preparing students for college and resources available for teaching.

“I think that whatever our roles as educators are to help students be as successful as they can be. And I think that this is an opportunity where students can have success,” said Lusher Charter School Science Teacher Alex Cluen-Brown.

The Louisiana Department of Education is launching a new dual enrollment portal to help students get ahead.

“So the portal will tell you what is dual enrollment, it’ll share with you what courses are available based on your areas of interest. You can find out if the courses are online or in person, what colleges and universities near you are offering different dual enrollment courses and of course, there are frequently asked questions,” said Louisiana Board of Regents Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed.

The state hoped to set students up for success before graduation, whether it’s through career and technical-based certifications or college credits.

“I think the high school experience has to be much more personalized than it was, you know, 30… 40 and even five years ago. The entry point of work has shifted. We know that students overwhelmingly are going to need more than simply a high school diploma at this point,” said Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley.

“There’s an opportunity for every student and now is the time to learn more and get involved. We want to make sure people understand dual enrollment is for everyone. There’s an opportunity for every student and now is the time to learn more and get involved,” said Reed.

The Statewide Dual Enrollment Task Force created the portal after recommendations from the legislature.