In this edition of In the News:
- New Orleans Dropout Rate Plummets
- The State of the RSD
- Local Education Stories
- National Education News
- Announcements
New Orleans Dropout Rate Plummets
New Orleans Dropout Rate Falls 31% in One Year; 50% since 2005
Educate Now! – April 4, 2011
Good News! Schools in New Orleans are doing a better job keeping kids in school. From 2008-09 to 2009-10, the city’s dropout rate for 9th-12th graders fell 31%, going from 8.3% to 5.7%. Once again, New Orleans improved faster than the state: the dropout rate for New Orleans has fallen 50% in five years, while the state average has dropped 27%. Pre-Katrina, New Orleans had a dropout rate of 11.4%, one of the worst in the country.
View Educate Now!’s Analysis of the dropout numbers.
View drop out rates by school.
The State of the RSD
State Supervision, Accountability Challenged
The Advocate – April 4, 2011
Expect some legislative battles this session, as Senator Ben Nevers, chairman of Senate Education committee, and Representative Patricia Smith, chairwoman of the black caucus, are concerned about the performance of the RSD outside of New Orleans as well as how schools are returned to local control.
DOE Releases Progress Report on the Recovery School District
Louisiana Department of Education – March 25, 2011
This DOE report looks at the progress of New Orleans schools as a whole, as well as schools in the RSD. It documents gains in student performance, school performance, graduation and dropout rates. In just five years, the number of students attending failing schools in New Orleans has dropped from 68% in 2004-2005 to just below 18% in 2009-2010.
View the Report Louisiana’s Turnaround Zone, Answering the Urgency of Now.
New Recovery School District Superintendent Could Be Named in Next 30 Days
The Times-Picayune – March 24, 2011
State Superintendent Pastorek says he hopes to name a successor to Paul Vallas within the next 30 days. Pastorek, who has sole authority to appoint the head of the Recovery School District, says he is looking at a wide range of candidates, but the next RSD Superintendent will definitely have experience turning around schools.
Three Charter Groups Win Grant Money to Expand in New Orleans
The Times-Picayune – March 29, 2011
The first round of New Orleans Investing in Innovation, or i3, awards will be given to KIPP New Orleans Schools, FirstLine Schools and Crescent City Schools. In October 2010, New Schools for New Orleans and the RSD were awarded a 5-year, $28 million i3 grant, and secured the required $5.6 million private match, to fund a plan to turn around the bottom 5 percent of schools in New Orleans using high-performing charter management organizations.
Confusion Swirls as BESE Ponders Proper Size of Neighborhood Attendance Zones
Louisiana Weekly – March 28, 2011
The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) recently met in New Orleans to discuss a plan that would allow RSD charters to apply to become “neighborhood schools” and reserve a percentage of seats for neighborhood students.
Editor’s note: BESE will be voting on this issue at a special meeting on April 8. If attendance zones are approved, charter schools overseen by the RSD would have until April 15 to submit amendments to their charter agreements establishing neighborhood zones.
Local Education Stories
Student Fees Vary Widely Throughout Orleans Public School System
The Lens – March 29, 2011
Many public schools (both charter and direct-run) charge fees for items such as school uniforms, classroom supplies and extra-curricular activities. Fees can range from just over $100 per student to well over $1,000. The Lens says the reasons for the fees are not hard to find: “Louisiana has long been a cheapskate when it comes to funding public education.”
View The Lens list of schools and fees charged.
Charter Group Poised to Take Over Joseph S. Clark High School
The Times-Picayune – March 26, 2011
After receiving the support of a community group organized by the Clark Alumni, FirstLine charter organization is now poised to take on management of the failing Joseph S. Clark High School in the Treme neighborhood.
Special Education Programs Brace for Loss of Federal Stimulus Money
The Times-Picayune – March 22, 2011
The Orleans Parish School Board expects it will have to cut about 50 employees, primarily among its special needs workers, with the end of the federal stimulus funding.
National Education News
New Urban Playbook: Hand Over Schools to Charter Operators
Education Week – March 21, 2011
New Orleans is not the only city looking to charters to turnaround failing schools. Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles are all part of this growing urban trend.
Future Schools
Education Next – Summer 2011
Technology-driven learning is at the heart of several new school models, including Rocketship Schools in California and School of One in New York, that combine face-to-face learning with online instruction. New technologies provide real-time assessment of student performance that allows teachers to personalize instruction to the needs of each child.
Why the Charter-School Idea Has Stood the Test of Time
The Education Gadfly – March 23, 2011
Three fundamental ideas form the basis for the charter school movement: accountability for results, school level autonomy and meaningful parental choice. It is a testament to the power of these three ideas that after two decades, charters remain at the center of the education reform movement.
Announcements
Mayor Landrieu Unveils Summer Opportunities for N.O. Youth
City of New Orleans – March 29, 2011
The city of New Orleans is offering summer employment opportunities for 14-21 year olds and camp options children ages 4-12. Registration is now open.
Win Books for Students in Your Favorite Classroom!
Educate Now! – March 21, 2011
Educate Now! is sending one lucky New Orleans public school classroom (transportation included) to the Maple Street Book Shop where each child will pick out a book of their very own to take home!
You can pick the winning classroom. How?
- Go to www.sharetowinnola.com.
- Register and then use the website to share the contest information by email, Facebook or Twitter with your friends and colleagues
- If you get the most number of people to sign up, you win.