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 »
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 »
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 »
Today, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) elected John White as the new state Superintendent of Education.
Since May 2011, John White has served as the Superintendent of Louisiana’s Recovery School District. White began his career in education as an English teacher in a high-poverty school in New Jersey. He later became the Executive Director of Teach For America-Chicago, where he worked for three years before taking a job with the New York City school system. In New York, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Portfolio Division, leading efforts to turn around failing schools and develop new ones, and later he served as NYC’s Deputy Chancellor, overseeing talent, labor and innovation.
John White has named Patrick Dobard as the new Superintendent of the Recovery School District. Dobard is a local New Orleanian and a career educator who taught for eleven years in Louisiana schools. In 2001, Dobard joined the Louisiana Department of Education, and over the next ten years he served in several key positions before moving to the Recovery School District. As the RSD’s Deputy Superintendent for Community and Policy, Dobard led the RSD’s 100-day strategy sessions that resulted in the comprehensive “What Will It Take” strategic plan for the RSD.
For more information, read the Louisiana Department of Education’s press release.
Educate Now! collected enrollment data for all New Orleans public schools. This unofficial October 1 student count shows:
Student enrollment is 42,198.
An increase of 2,321 students from last year and a 64% increase since 2006, the first full year after Katrina.
78% of New Orleans students now attend charter schools, up from 71% last year.
New Orleans Public Schools
October 1 Student Count (all students)
| Year |
OPSB Direct-Run |
OPSB Charter |
OPSB
Direct and
Charter |
RSD Direct-Run |
RSD Charter |
RSD
Direct and
Charter |
BESE
Type 2
Charter |
TOTAL |
% at Charter Schools |
| 2004 |
65,349 |
N/A |
65,349 |
N/A |
261 |
261 |
762 |
66,372 |
2% |
| |
| 2006 |
2,904 |
6,246 |
9,150 |
8,619 |
7,200 |
15,819 |
682 |
25,651 |
55% |
| 2007 |
2,630 |
7,089 |
9,719 |
11,608 |
10,040 |
21,648 |
782 |
32,149 |
56% |
| 2008 |
2,806 |
7,402 |
10,208 |
12,724 |
12,177 |
24,901 |
846 |
35,955 |
57% |
| 2009 |
2,773 |
7,606 |
10,379 |
11,933 |
14,821 |
26,754 |
918 |
38,051 |
61% |
| 2010 |
2,790 |
7,797 |
10,587 |
8,779 |
19,433 |
28,212 |
1078 |
39,877 |
71% |
| 2011 |
3,047 |
7,921 |
10,968 |
6,398 |
23,285 |
29,683 |
1,547 |
42,198 |
78% |
Sources: Louisiana Department of Education for October 1, 2004 through October 1, 2010 enrollment. The October 1, 2011 enrollment is self-reported by the RSD, OPSB and individual charter schools. Note: This chart does not include the Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy’s enrollment, since most of its students do not live in New Orleans.
Here are the results from the October 22 BESE elections:
District 1 (St. Tammany, most of Jefferson and some of New Orleans) incumbent Jim Garvey won reelection with 58% of the vote.
District 2 (New Orleans, Jefferson and the river parishes) incumbent Louella Givens received 31% of the vote and heads to a runoff with Kira Orange Jones, who leads with 39% of the vote.
District 3 (includes St. Bernard, Plaquemines and some of Jefferson) Lottie Beebe beat incumbent Glenny Lee Buquet with 56% of the vote.
District 4 (northwest Louisiana) incumbent Walter Lee was unopposed.
Read More »
Educate Now! strongly encourages everyone to Vote this Saturday. Every vote counts - especially since voter turnout is expected to be light.
The BESE elections are critically important because they will impact the future of public schools in New Orleans.
Candidate Profiles
District 2: There are four candidates for District 2, which covers most of Orleans, parts of Jefferson, St. John, St. James, St. Charles and Assumption (incumbent Louella Givens).
The Times-Picayune Profiles District 2 Candidates
Council for a Better Louisiana: Meet the District 2 Candidates
District 1: There are three candidates for District 1, which covers parts of Orleans, most of Jefferson, and St. Tammany (incumbent Jim Garvey).
The Times-Picayune Profiles District 1 Candidates
Council for a Better Louisiana: Meet the District 1 Candidates Read More »
The Money Myth is the belief that the RSD in New Orleans receives significantly more public money to educate its students than other districts do. Not true.
MYTH 1
Jack Loup, president of the St. Tammany Parish School Board, said State Superintendent Pastorek directs about $13,000 per student to RSD schools in New Orleans, compared to $5,900 per student in the St. Tammany school system.
FACT
New Orleans RSD schools receive less state funding per pupil than St. Tammany Parish schools. New Orleans RSD direct-run schools receive $4,342 per pupil. St. Tammany schools receive $5,289.
FACT
New Orleans RSD schools receive less state funding per pupil than the state average. New Orleans RSD direct-run schools receive $4,342 per pupil. The state average is $4,999.
|
In 2010, Educate Now! convened a Task Force to consider long-term governance alternatives for New Orleans public schools. In a series of meetings over several months, the members of the Task Force worked on how best to restore local control of public education without imperiling the considerable academic progress since 2005.
The Task Force determined that New Orleans requires a unique governance structure to manage the new “system of schools” that has evolved since Katrina. The structure that the Task Force recommended is called the Return Model.
The Return Model: A New Approach to Governance for Schools in Orleans Parish
Interviews: Leslie Jacobs Explains the Return Model
Comment on the Return Model
The Return Model report lays out the governance system that the Task Force recommended. Not every detail is attended to, and Educate Now! expects and invites community debate that will further refine the model.
BESE held its full Board meeting today. The final votes are as follows:
1. Pastorek’s Revised Plan for Return of Schools was approved.
2. BESE approved a new letter grading system for schools, which will go into effect in 2011. The letter grades will replace the current star ratings. The Department of Education estimates over 500 schools will have D rating. Read More »
