New Orleans Students Are College Bound
New Orleans public school seniors celebrate acceptances to college
Great news from New Orleans high schools! Ninety-five percent of seniors will graduate this spring (compared to only 79% in 2005), and so far 2,500 seniors have received college acceptances from more than 345 colleges and earned $53 million in merit scholarships. There is no doubt that lives are being changed thanks to the hard work of teachers, administrators, community members and the students themselves.
Congratulations to the class of 2014!
Academic Growth Defies Poverty
Cowen report: Sharp academic growth defies New Orleans’ widespread poverty
The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch has gone up 9% since 2004, and yet the average school performance score in New Orleans has risen by 41%, according to a report from Tulane’s Cowen Institute. The report highlights the success of efforts to improve schools since Katrina.
It’s Not the Kids … It’s the Schools
Let black kids learn
William McGurn of the New York Post says the dismal performance of African-American students in New York City’s district schools isn’t the fault of the students; it’s the fault of the schools. McGurn suggests New York look to New Orleans, where “more black children are learning; more are leaving high school ready for college; and more parents have better options.” Put students in schools where they have a better chance of learning, McGurn says, whether charter, Catholic or private.
Enrollment Choices for 2014-15
Top New Orleans public school choices in OneApp are Edna Karr, Baby Ben
Eighty percent of students who applied through the centralized OneApp system got one of their top three choices for the fall – almost 10 points higher than last year. Families that didn’t get their first choice can apply in a second round to schools with available seats. The most popular elementary-middle schools were Ben Franklin, Alice Harte, Martin Behrman, Arthur Ashe, and the International School’s Spanish program. The most popular high schools were Edna Karr, Eleanor McMain, Lake Area New Tech, McDonogh 35, and Landry-Walker. Ten OPSB charters do not participate in OneApp.
Students at failing John McDonogh High assigned to mostly B, C schools
The majority of students from the failing John McDonogh High School will be placed in B or C schools in the fall. Of the 170 students who applied for a new school through OneApp, 94% got either their first or second choice.
Louisiana Headlines
Louisiana Senators reject school funding formula proposed by state board
The Senate Education Committee has rejected BESE’s new school MFP formula. The senators objected to a provision that required an automatic 2.75% increase in funding per student annually if the legislature couldn’t approve a funding formula in the future. Editor’s note: It is likely the current MFP formula will remain in place for another year. The impact will be that Course Choice funding, Jumpstart funding, and new special education weights that were added to the formula will not go into effect. (The legislature can still fund these initiatives through the state general fund if they choose to do so.)
New ethics restrictions for state school board pass Louisiana House: Snapshot
The Louisiana House of Representatives voted to prohibit the state’s school superintendent, members of BESE, and their family members from being involved with groups or organizations that have contracts with or business before the Louisiana Department of Education or BESE. The prohibition would last for up to two years after the superintendent or a BESE member leaves their position. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Common Core Controversy Continues
In a USAToday op-ed, Governor Jindal argued against Common Core saying that increasing federal involvement combined with the idea of Washington determining curricula made Common Core a “non-starter” for him. USAToday‘s editorial board responded, saying the Common Core discussion has been derailed by political opportunism. They point to some simple facts: 1) Common Core was initiated by state school chiefs – not by the federal government – and backed by the National Governor’s Association; 2) States can set their own curriculum or refuse to participate altogether; and 3) Calling it Obamacore doesn’t make sense – Obama wasn’t president in 2007 when Common Core was proposed.
Paul Pastorek, Louisiana’s former superintendent of education, also responded to Jindal, accusing the governor of creating a false argument against Common Core.
Meanwhile, a group of 17 Louisiana legislators have asked Governor Jindal to veto regulations so that the Department of Education could not purchase the PARCC tests, and Jindal says he is considering it. In the House Education Committee on Monday, Rep. Brett Geymann’s bill to require legislative approval before any national test can be purchased will be heard. Opponents say the law would trigger “academic chaos” for teachers and administrators. In addition to PARCC, the ban would cover the ACT and AP tests among others.
Finally, the House Education Committee voted to advance a bill from Rep. Walt Leger that would delay the full phase-in of teacher, school and student accountability tied to the Common Core tests for an additional year.
National Stories
Google Stops Scanning Student Gmail Accounts for Ads
Google says it has stopped scanning student Gmail accounts for advertising purposes. Google Apps for Education offers free Gmail accounts to more than 30 million students, teachers and administrators. Google says they never placed ads inside the apps, but it did scan the contents of students’ Gmail accounts and gather information that could potentially have been used to target ads to students elsewhere online.
More Local News
New formula for distributing revenues bumps up public school allocations
The city’s public schools are receiving an unexpected windfall of about $39 million this year. The funds are deferred revenue that was owed the schools due to increases in tax revenues that had not been distributed. It’s the second time in recent months that schools are getting more money. The last time it was because OPSB only included 11 months of sales tax from the 2011-12 fiscal year, underfunding schools by $7.8 million.
New Orleans charter McDonogh City Park votes to join ReNEW network
The board that runs McDonogh #28 City Park Academy voted to join the ReNEW charter network. Teachers and staff supported the move to ReNEW because ReNEW would allow them to stay with the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana. The state will now have to approve the merger.
Easton leader keen on legislation that would establish revolving fund for maintenance
David Garland, the president of Warren Easton Charter School Foundation, says he supports a bill that would create a school facilities maintenance fund. HB 941 would allow over $20 million in Orleans Parish sales and property tax to go toward funding a school facility office, emergency repairs, and eventually a centrally managed revolving loan fund and maintenance accounts for individual school buildings. Currently, the taxes go to pay off school construction bonds, but these should be paid off by 2020.
New Orleans inspector general’s office reasserts right to audit parish agencies
Arguments have begun in OPSB’s appeal of a September ruling that said the city’s Inspector General has the right to audit the Orleans Parish School Board because OPSB receives tax revenues collected by the city on the school board’s behalf. If the appeals court rules in favor of the Inspector General, he might also be able to audit the RSD, which receives local property taxes through OPSB, and also individual charters that receive local funds through the RSD.
Shout Outs! Recognition for New Orleans’s Top Schools
Best U.S. High Schools – 2014 Rankings
Two New Orleans schools are on this year’s list of Best High Schools from U.S. News and World Report. Sci Academy in New Orleans East and Sci High in Uptown are both 2014 silver medal winners. Louisiana also had 82 bronze medal winners in the rankings, including Edna Karr and Warren Easton in New Orleans. The rankings were based on overall student reading and math performance as well as the percentage of economically disadvantaged students and whether they, along with African-American and Hispanic students, perform above average.
Educate Now! congratulates these schools for a job well done.