Author: Leslie Jacobs

2013 EOC Results – High School Gains Continue

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

The state has released the End-of-Course (EOC) exam results for 2012-2013.

The percent of students proficient (scoring Excellent or Good) increased – and at a faster rate than the state. 

From 2011-12 to 2012-13, looking at all tests combined:

  • RSD-New Orleans and OPSB each gained 7 percentage points.
  • The state gained 4 points.

Percent of Students Proficient
(Scoring Excellent or Good)

District 2011-2012  2012-2013  Gain
RSD-New Orleans 31% 38% 7
OPSB 61% 68% 7
Louisiana 55% 59% 4

View a comparison of gains by district.

Continue reading →

In the News: June 30, 2013

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In this edition of In the News:

  • Conflict Escalates at OPSB
  • CREDO: Charters Outperforming Traditional Schools
  • RSD Updates
  • Louisiana Headlines
  • National Education Stories
  • Other Local News

Conflict Escalates at OPSB

Community: Orleans Parish School Board should focus on superintendent search, not politics
Times-Picayune – June 29, 2013
Recent actions by the Orleans Parish School Board have left many in the community astounded and perplexed, particularly by OPSB President, Ira Thomas. Even those who support Thomas’ views say he has failed to step up, lead a bigger conversation, and bring together people with opposing views. “I don’t know what he stands for. Nobody does,” says Andre Perry. Continue reading →

In the News: June 16, 2013

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In this edition of In the News:

  • Ira Thomas: The Saga Continues
  • Louisiana Headlines
  • Poor Voucher Performance
  • RSD in the News
  • National Education Stories
  • OPSB Updates
  • From the RSD
  • Shout Out

Ira Thomas: The Saga Continues 

Orleans Parish School Board president’s SUNO job description not valid, university says
Times-Picayune – June 7, 2013
OPSB President Ira Thomas could be violating state law by serving on the Orleans Parish School Board while also working as Police Chief for Southern University at New Orleans (a state entity). The question is whether the law’s educational exemption applies. It allows dual office holding if the person “is employed in a professional educational capacity.” Continue reading →

News Alert: K-12 Gets Increase in Funding

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Louisiana House and Senate negotiators have struck a deal on the state budget that includes an additional $68 million for K-12 education:

  • $34 million for a teacher pay raise (not a one-time bonus)
  • $34 million for local school districts to spend as needed

There is a commitment by all parties to include this funding in the 2014-15 MFP, so this increase is not a one-time appropriation.

The House and Senate will vote on the proposed changes today, and Governor Jindal has said he supports the plan. The session officially ends tonight at 6:00 pm.

For more, read this article in the Times-Picayune.

In the News – June 2, 2013

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In this edition of In the News:

  • Legislative and Legal Updates
  • Other Louisiana News
  • Common Core Updates
  • National Headlines
  • Local Stories

Legislative and Legal Updates 

The Louisiana Supreme Court vacated the district court ruling that Act 1 (teacher evaluation and tenure) was a dual-object bill. Essentially, the justices want the district court judge to reconsider his ruling on Act 1 based on the fact that the Supreme Court recently ruled Act 2 (school choice) was a single object.

Louisiana’s legislative session ends this Thursday (June 6th). Here’s what’s happening on the K-12 Education front:

Act 2: Financial Implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling that vouchers and Course Choice could not be funded through the MFP and that the 2012-13 MFP resolution was not legally adopted.

Continue reading →

2013 Test Scores Are In, and We Rock! … Again!!

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Student performance showed robust improvement for the 6th consecutive year.

  • New Orleans (OPSB & RSD) is #1 in growth, gaining 5 points in the percentage of students meeting the state proficiency goal of Basic or above.
  • This growth was fueled by RSD-New Orleans, with its 6 point gain.
  • OPSB grew 1 point, equal to the state average.
  • Students improved across all grades and subjects.

Special Education – OPSB Not Serving Its Share

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

Schools under the OPSB serve a disproportionately low number of students with disabilities. The city average is 9.9% special education students, but OPSB schools (charter and traditional combined) serve 6.6%. OPSB charters serve only 5.49% while RSD charters serve 11.1%.

Even OPSB’s open-admission charter schools are significantly under-serving special education students.

OPSB receives a lump sum based on the total number of students with disabilities in the city. It then distributes the money among its schools as if each individual school had the average 9.9% special education enrollment. That means some OPSB schools are getting much more than their fair share of special education dollars, while other schools aren’t getting enough.

Read more in this article in the Times-Picayune:

Special education enrollment numbers show Orleans Parish School Board charters lagging

View the list of schools and special education enrollment:

In the News – May 21, 2013

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In this Edition of In the News:

  • Choice Updates
  • Session Status
  • National Headlines
  • Local News

Choice Updates

Shakeout from school voucher ruling by Louisiana Supreme Court begins
Times-Picayune – May 15, 2013
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that using the MFP to fund vouchers and Course Choice is unconstitutional, which means the state has to find another way to pay for the programs. Andrew Vanacore suggests that with 8,000 vouchers students already signed up for this coming school year, legislators will probably approve voucher funding for 2013-14. After that, the programs’ future is uncertain. As for Course Choice, Superintendent John White says his department plans to go ahead with the program next year and fund the $2.1 million through his own department budget.

Continue reading →

In the News: May 6, 2013

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

In this edition of In the News:

  • Boomtown New Orleans
  • BGR Releases Report on OPSB Finances
  • Rethinking the High School to College Transition
  • Common Core Updates
  • National Education Stories
  • Louisiana Headlines
  • Local News

Boomtown New Orleans

The Top 12 American Boomtowns
Bloomberg – April 24, 2013
According to Bloomberg Rankings, New Orleans is one of America’s fastest growing cities. The New Orleans metropolitan area – New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner – was ranked #2 for population increase combined with growth in real GDP. New Orleans came in after Austin in the rankings but beat out Raleigh and Houston for the #2 spot.

Continue reading →

What Does N.O. Think About Education Reforms

Posted on by Leslie Jacobs

There has been much discussion about how folks really view education reforms in New Orleans. Last week, Tulane’s Cowen Institute released a 2013 public opinion poll providing data that replaces pure speculation with poll results on how voters feel about key issues.

Key Findings

Voters agreed more than they disagreed, reflecting consensus on some key points:

  • Support for school choice for families, with only 21% wanting a return to neighborhood schools;
  • Replacing operators of low-performing schools with charter operators who have demonstrated success (65%);
  • The need for the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) to make structural and operational changes before schools are returned (65%), with a strong preference (41%) for a local school board with a mix of elected and appointed members; only 16% of voters believe OPSB as currently structured should have oversight of all charter schools.
  • While black and white voters disagreed on when to return schools, the majority (55%) feel return should be in the more distant future (3-5 years) or never.

Continue reading →