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

Positive Impact: School Closures and Takeovers 

School closures and takeovers can have strong positive effects on student outcomes, according to a new report from Tulane’s Education Research Alliance. Their study looked at school closures and takeovers from 2008 to 2014 in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and found:

• In New Orleans, interventions typically targeted very low-performing schools, and students attended better schools afterwards.
• Elementary students in New Orleans saw the most benefit, with affected students not only catching up to their peers in the comparison group, but surpassing them.
• High school interventions in New Orleans boosted graduation rates for affected students by 20 percentage points.
• High school students in Baton Rouge saw no positive impact after closures and fared worse in takeover schools, probably because affected students ended up in lower performing schools.
• 25 to 40 percent of New Orleans’ academic improvement since Katrina can be attributed to school closures and takeovers.

In his review of the study, Neerav Kingland said it’s clear there are good ways and bad ways to close schools, and cities should not close failing schools and send children to other failing schools. “But the NOLA data indicates that it’s possible to help both existing and future students, which should increase your belief in the benefits of school closure.”
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In Cased You Missed It (ICYMI) … Your mini news clippings

Department Releases Draft Louisiana ESSA Plan

State Supt. John White released a draft framework for how Louisiana can comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind last year. White’s plan includes changes in how public schools are rated, fewer tests, new assistance for persistently struggling schools, and better teacher preparation.

Earlier this year, Gov. John Bel Edwards named his own panel to do a separate review of the state’s public school policies. White says he looks forward to sharing his ideas with them. “This is not a political document,” he said. “We cannot go back to the political squabbles of old.”

White’s draft plan is set for discussion at nine meetings in October and November, including public gatherings and education panels. You can read the plan on the Department of Education’s website.

Divided Over Charter Schools

The African-American community is divided over charter schools. This month, the board of the NAACP will vote on a resolution, approved by its members, calling for a moratorium on new charters. Black Lives Matter took a similar position in their first-ever policy agenda.

In response, the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) helped start the Charters Work campaign and sent a letter to the NAACP, signed by 160 Black educators, advocates, lawmakers and religious leaders asking them to reject the moratorium. This group includes Cheryl Brown Henderson, the youngest daughter of the plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education.

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