Thursday, May 24, 2012, 7:37 am
The K-8 student test scores for Louisiana were released today, and New Orleans continues to improve.
Test Score Highlights
- For the 6th year in a row, student performance is up.
- Growth was less robust this year. While the RSD outperformed the state, for the first time since Katrina, OPSB did not.
- New Orleans Combined (OPSB +RSD) tied the state with a 2 point gain in the percentage of students Basic or above.
- New Orleans students performed better than last year in all four subjects (English, Math, Science and Social Studies).
- We reduced the percentage of students performing in the lowest category (Unsatisfactory).
- We increased the percentage of students performing above grade level (Mastery and Advanced). Read More »
Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 9:04 pm
As we struggle to build a better future for our youth, it is important that we take time to recognize the large and small successes that transpire in our schools every day.
Just this past week, two of our open-admissions high schools have given us reason to celebrate. Sci Academy held a Senior Signing Day to honor the accomplishments of its first graduating senior class. Over 94% of their 55 graduates were accepted to a 4-year college. And Lake Area New Tech Early College High School reported that 100% of their 125 graduates were accepted to either a 2 or 4-year college. Read More »
Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 1:01 pm
In this edition of In the News:
- Economic Success of New Orleans
- Legislative Update
- What Does the Public Think?
- Other Louisiana Stories
- National News
- Closer to Home
Economic Success of New Orleans
Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas
Brookings Institution – March 2012
Brookings has named Greater New Orleans one of the “20 Strongest Performing Metros” in the nation based on the strength of our economic recovery. Brookings looked at the 100 largest metropolitan areas, and New Orleans’ job growth and gains in economic output placed our city in their top 20. Read More »
Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 10:29 am
Dear Legislator:
Over the next two weeks, you will be asked to vote for the Choice Bill (HB 976 and SB 597), which will make over 350,000 public school students eligible for vouchers. Done well, it can change lives, giving students trapped in failing schools better educational opportunities and improving education statewide. Done poorly, it will waste taxpayer money and financially strain local school districts.
So, let’s pass a good bill – one that will use our tax dollars to provide a better education for public school students. As it currently stands, the bill has two key flaws that you can easily fix.
First, the current bill fails to protect against fraud or mismanagement of tax dollars.
Read More »
Monday, March 19, 2012, 4:31 pm
In this edition of In the News:
- A Big Leap Forward
- Weighing in on the Legislative Agenda
- A How-To Guide for New Orleans-Style Reform
- Tougher Expulsion Policies Don’t Equal More Crime
- Charter Accountability
- National Education Stories
- Local News
A Big Leap Forward
The Big Easy’s Business Leap Forward
The Wall Street Journal – March 16, 2012
The Wall Street Journal celebrates New Orleans’ entrepreneurial boom and the new risk-taking spirit in New Orleans exemplified by Idea Village’s fourth annual Entrepreneur Week, which featured 525 start-up companies competing for more than $1 million in capital and consulting services.
Editor’s Note: Jen Medbery, founder of Drop the Chalk/Kickboard, won Entrepreneur Week’s top award – the Coulter Challenge IDEApitch. Congratulations Jen for marrying the education reform movement with the city’s entrepreneurial renaissance. Read More »
Monday, March 12, 2012, 11:09 am
Governor Jindal has made K-12 education reform the cornerstone of his legislative agenda. He is proposing sweeping changes – including expanding vouchers, creating more charter schools, and changing teacher tenure – that could radically alter the landscape of Louisiana education.
This Wednesday the House Education Committee and this Thursday the Senate Education Committee will hear his three foundational bills.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 976 and Sen. Appel’s SB 597, which expand school choice, including the scholarship program, pathways for charter schools, the providers who can offer courses to K-12 students, and a “parent trigger” for failing schools.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 974 and Sen. Appel’s SB 603, which link teacher tenure to performance, make effectiveness the primary criterion for personnel decisions, and grant authority for hiring and placement of personnel to school superintendents.
- Rep. Carter’s House Bill 933 and Sen. Appel’s SB 581, which outline a framework for a single coordinated early childhood education system with accountability for academic outcomes.
Comments on the Governor’s Education Package
Gov. Bobby Jindal Education Overhaul Legislation Introduced
The Times-Picayune – March 3, 2012
This article outlines the governor’s ambitious plans, provides details on the different bills to be debated, and presents arguments for and against his most controversial proposals to overhaul teacher tenure and expand vouchers. Read More »
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 12:07 pm
Yesterday, BESE approved an MFP resolution that now goes to the legislature to be voted upon.
The resolution approved yesterday includes some major changes that align with the Governor’s K-12 reform agenda. The underlying philosophy of these changes is the money to educate a child should follow that child to a broader array of education providers – not just public elementary and secondary schools.
Background on the MFP: The MFP stands for the Minimum Foundation Plan and is the formula that provides the funding for public schools in Louisiana. It includes the local share (local property and sales taxes dedicated to K-12 education) as well as the state share (money paid by the state.) BESE approves an MFP resolution every year, which the legislature can only vote to approve or reject – they cannot amend it.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS (VOUCHERS)
If the legislature votes in favor of this resolution, Student Scholarships will be included in the MFP. The pilot voucher program in New Orleans was funded with state dollars outside of the MFP and had to be annually appropriated by the legislature. By including the vouchers in the MFP, the scholarships will now be funded using both state and local revenues and have the constitutional funding protection provided by the MFP. Read More »
Monday, February 27, 2012, 4:16 pm
In this edition of In the News:
- Schools More Diverse; High Poverty Stays the Same
- RSD Headlines
- Enrollment Begins for 2012-13
- National Education Stories
- Louisiana’s Education Leaders in the News
- Governor’s Reform Agenda
Orleans Public School Enrollment Continues to Climb with Increase in Diversity and Charter Choice
- New Orleans continues its steady increase in enrollment, growing from 39,877 students last year to 42,030 this year.
- The student population continues to diversify, with the percentage of non-African American students growing to 13.7% this year, up from 11.3% last year and 6.6% before Katrina.
- The percentage of students attending charter schools increased sizably, from 71% last year to 77.5% this year
- The percent of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch has remained fairly constant – 83.5% – and is more than 16 percentage points higher than the state average.
View student enrollment for OPSB and RSD by year and by sub-group (white, black, free, reduced).
View the Oct 1 student enrollment by school.
For more information on children in New Orleans, read this report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It includes demographic and socio-economic data as well as information on educational achievement. Read More »
Monday, January 30, 2012, 11:43 am
In this edition of In the News:
- What Can Ohio Learn from the RSD?
- The Case for Charter School Districts
- Gov. Jindal’s Plan for Education Reform
- National Education Stories
- RSD in the News
- In Other News
- Announcements
What Can Ohio Learn from the RSD?
What Can Ohio Learn from the Louisiana Recovery School District?
Education Gadfly – January 17, 2012
According to Ohio’s Fordham Institute, the speed and scale of improvements in Louisiana’s Recovery School District is vastly superior to anything they’ve seen in Ohio’s troubled schools. Fordham commissioned a report on the RSD to learn more about what’s working, what’s not, and what lessons can be applied in the Buckeye State. Read More »
Monday, January 16, 2012, 11:22 am
In this edition of In the News:
- Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
- New Superintendents Chosen for Department of Education and RSD
- Louisiana Education Stories
- National News
- Announcements
Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain
New York Times – January 6, 2012
A new study of the value-added method of teacher evaluation shows that teachers who help raise their students’ standardized-test scores have a lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics. The study tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years and found that students with high value-added teachers are less likely to become pregnant as teenagers, more likely to enroll in college, and more likely to earn more money as adults. Read More »
