Month: March 2015

ICYMI: A Week of Research

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) … Your mini news clippings

New Orleans Charters Outperform

Charter schools in urban areas are outperforming traditionally operated public schools, according to CREDO’s latest report. CREDO has been studying charter school performance for a number of years. This latest study included 41 cities and found students in urban charters gained 40 more days of math and 28 more days of reading than their peers in traditional public schools. New Orleans’ results were among the strongest:

  • Students in New Orleans charters gained the equivalent of an extra 86 days in math and 63 days in English compared to their peers in traditional public schools. (Louisiana assumes a 180 day school year, so about one half of a school year extra in math and one-third in reading)
  • This puts New Orleans 7th out of 41 urban areas studied.

Other Research

US News and World Report focuses on New Orleans public schools in a story on equity in school choice. This story was in response to a report from the Education Research Alliance (ERA) on how schools in New Orleans respond to competition. Both US News and World Report and the Times-Picayune point out how New Orleans is ensuring equity of access through OneApp.

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News Alert: OPSB seeking interim to fill Ira Thomas’ seat

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

The Orleans Parish School Board is seeking an interim replacement for board member Ira Thomas.
Thomas resigned Friday, March 6 upon being charged with taking a bribe.

The school board has 10 business days to find a replacement to fill Thomas’ seat until a Special Election is called. They are hoping to appoint a qualified person at their March 17 meeting, but if they can’t agree on a candidate, Governor Bobby Jindal must appoint someone.

OPSB has put out a call for candidates. Anyone interested must hand deliver a Letter of Interest to the OPSB office by noon on Thursday, March 12. Candidates must be at least 18 years old, a resident of Louisiana for the last two years and of District 1 for the last year.

OPSB is hoping to get someone well-versed on school matters who “can just jump on board.” This is important since the school board is in the middle of negotiating a contract with its new superintendent, Henderson Lewis Jr.

To apply:

Letters of Interest should be addressed to Board President Seth Bloom and hand delivered to the OPSB Board Office, 3520 General de Gaulle Drive, Suite 5055, New Orleans by noon on Thursday, March 12, 2015.

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ICYMI: Common Core Heating Up

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) … Your mini news clippings

Common Core Heats Up:

  • Students take the tests in March, and we will see how many parents opt out.
  • BESE meets tomorrow to discuss a common core compromise, including reviewing the standards, freezing school letter grades, and delaying use of test results in teacher value-added evaluations for another year.
  • Governor Jindal unveiled his budget, which would decimate funds for key tests. If Louisiana does not have English and math tests in grades 3-8, it risks losing more than $500 million in federal aid. And, the renewal of the federal NCLB legislation does not offer a way out. Every version so far keeps the testing requirement.
  • Scott Angel (R), David Vitter (R), and John Bel Edwards (D) have all come out against common core, calling for Louisiana standards and for Louisiana to not participate in the PARCC test. Jay Dardenne (R) supports the common core standards and comparing our students’ performance to those from across the country.

New Orleans in the News:

A delegation from Georgia, including Governor Nathan Deal, visited New Orleans last weekto hear about lessons learned as Georgia works on its Opportunity School District, modeled after the RSD.

Continue reading →

ICYMI: Common Core Heating Up

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) … Your mini news clippings

Common Core Heats Up:

  • Students take the tests in March, and we will see how many parents opt out.
  • BESE meets tomorrow to discuss a common core compromise, including reviewing the standards, freezing school letter grades, and delaying use of test results in teacher value-added evaluations for another year.
  • Governor Jindal unveiled his budget, which would decimate funds for key tests. If Louisiana does not have English and math tests in grades 3-8, it risks losing more than $500 million in federal aid. And, the renewal of the federal NCLB legislation does not offer a way out. Every version so far keeps the testing requirement.
  • Scott Angel (R), David Vitter (R), and John Bel Edwards (D) have all come out against common core, calling for Louisiana standards and for Louisiana to not participate in the PARCC test. Jay Dardenne (R) supports the common core standards and comparing our students’ performance to those from across the country.

New Orleans in the News:

A delegation from Georgia, including Governor Nathan Deal, visited New Orleans last weekto hear about lessons learned as Georgia works on its Opportunity School District, modeled after the RSD.

Continue reading →