In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) … Your mini news clippings
Election Results
Backers of strong accountability and standards won a majority of seats in Saturday’s BESE elections. The New Orleans area solidly supported incumbents Kira Orange Jones in the 1st District and James Garvey in the 2nd. Saturday’s losers included incumbents Lottie Beebe and Carolyn Hill, vocal critics of Common Core and state Superintendent John White. Two other seats will be determined in a runoff election on November 21, and the remaining three seats will be appointed by Louisiana’s next governor. Who the governor appoints, along with the outcome of two runoffs, will determine how united or divided BESE will be going forward.
The race for OPSB’s 1st District will be decided in a runoff election on November 21 between John Brown Sr. and Keith Barney. This is a special election to replace Ira Thomas, who resigned in March after being charged with corruption.
Eyeing New Orleans as a Model
The Hechinger Report examines some of the challenges and successes of turnaround districts, including Louisiana’s RSD.
The Broad Foundation developed a plan to expand charter schools in Los Angeles. In response, one online news site looks at recent coverage of New Orleans’ schools to show how opinion remains divided over the impact of an all-charter district.
National Stories
Across the country, graduation rates continue to rise. The majority of states also shrank achievement gaps for minority and low-income students.
A recent study of a large-scale pre-K program in Tennessee found the positive impact of the program wore off quickly and concluded more research needs to be done on how teachers can capitalize on and sustain student gains over time and on what constitutes “high quality” pre-K.
A report on school funding in Pennsylvania found districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding than districts that have more minority students, no matter how rich or poor the district in question.
A longitudinal study of children’s personalities in North Carolina showed a correlation between a poor family’s income increasing and a reduction in behavioral and emotional disorders among their children.
A new guide from the U.S. Department of Education aims to help school systems better serve students who lack legal status.
Louisiana Headlines
Yearlong apprenticeships and expert mentor teachers are critical to preparing aspiring teachers for the classroom according to a report on Louisiana’s pilot program to expand and improve teacher preparation programs.
BESE has approved a plan that will allow Louisiana to compare its PARCC test results with 10 other states and the District of Columbia.
Voucher enrollment in Louisiana dropped slightly this year, while enrollment in a separate voucher program for special needs students increased.
Local News
There are 82 public schools in New Orleans this year. OPSB now runs or oversees 24 schools, its highest share since 2005. The state oversees the rest, including RSD and Type 2 charters and NOCCA.
The state announced they will not merge Cohen College Prep and Booker T. Washington high schools. Instead KIPP New Orleans has agreed to run a high school at the Booker T. Washington site beginning next year, and Cohen will remain at its uptown site.