ICYMI … Your mini news clippings

• For an insightful view of the charter school debate, read this Forbes commentary. The author, an economist, cites strong evidence from numerous studies that charters are better at educating poor students and black students than regular public schools. They are not as good for non-urban schools and white students. His main point: if any other public policy showed these types of results, it would be embraced much more readily.

• The Wall Street Journal had cover story profiling a 25-year-old welder in Texas making $140,000 a year. And … both his parents have doctoral degrees. New Orleans needs more Career-Technical Education (CTE), for these opportunities are in our metro area as well.

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ICYMI … Your mini news clippings

ICYMI … Your mini news clippings

In the news (or mini news clippings..ICYMI)

• Senator Vitter just did a 180 on Common Core.
• Stand for Children urges you to express your disappointment with Senator Vitter.
• BESE renews/extends the charters of one-fourth of schools, although Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School is not happy about their OneApp reprimand.
• In this op-ed, RSD Superintendent Patrick Dobard comments on the sometimes hard decisions required if we are committed to ensuring that the school options for students are the best our city can offer.
• And one perspective on why Franklin’s teachers voted to unionize.

And … 

Don’t forget to vote YES this Saturday, December 6! 

Help pass the school facility millage to keep New Orleans public school buildings from falling into disrepair. 
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RSD Increases Opportunities for Minority Students

It’s clear: RSD has increased opportunities for minority students
In this letter to the U.S. Department of Education, the RSD outlines how its turnaround strategy has increased educational opportunities for minority students. The RSD serves the majority of African American students in the city. It has seen gains in state test scores and ACT scores and has improved access to high-performing schools through OneApp. On average, students leaving closed RSD schools have enrolled in new schools with an SPS 24.1 points higher than their former school. The U.S. DOE is investigating a civil rights complaint that claims the closing of traditionally run schools unfairly affected minority students.

Trickle Up Government
Harvard Political Review says the leadership vacuum in Washington, D.C. has forced local governments to develop new policy solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems. The Review says New Orleans is a city that is driving innovation in the public sector. They point to RSD’s groundbreaking reforms, which have made New Orleans one of the nation’s most rapidly improving school systems. “Given the persistent struggles many big city school systems have faced for decades, New Orleans’ new approach may fundamentally alter the face of urban education in America.”

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NOLA High Schools 

Most New Orleans public high schools beat the odds, study says
Edit: On October 10, 2014, the Cowen Institute retracted this report saying its methodology was flawed. For more, click here.

Louisiana Headlines

Louisiana has second-strongest charter school initiative in the U.S., report says
Louisiana’s charter schools ranked as the second strongest according to a recent report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Louisiana was praised for having charters that served a higher percentage of low-income students and exhibited higher academic growth than traditional public schools.

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N.O. Wins Grant for Arts Education

New Orleans Wins Prestigious Planning Grant for Arts Education
The Kennedy Center has selected New Orleans as the newest city for its Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child initiative, a program designed to help cities address the urgent need to restore arts education in schools. Beginning this month, Kennedy Center staff will work with local leaders to conduct a comprehensive audit of existing arts education resources as well as a needs assessment. Then a plan will be created to bring more access to arts education for all K-8 students.

President Clinton Gives New Orleans a Shout Out!  

Bill Clinton: Charter Schools Must Be Held To ‘The Original Bargain’
Former President Bill Clinton says, “I think it’s really important that you invest in what works. For example, New Orleans has better schools than it had before Hurricane Katrina, and it’s the only public school [district] in America where 100 percent of the schools are charter schools.” But the reforms shouldn’t stop there, he added. Clinton was an early backer of charters and understood the original bargain to be that charters would get more freedom, but if they weren’t outperforming the public model, their charter would not be renewed.

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A Student’s Point of View

Q&A: One Student’s Educational Saga In New Orleans
NPR reports on high school senior Whitman Wilcox, who attended five schools in nine years, beginning with an elementary school in the 9th Ward, followed by a Catholic school in Houston after Katrina, two New Orleans charters, and ending as a senior at St. Augustine’s. Whitman chooses to focus on the positive side of attending so many schools. “I think I got a benefit because I got to work and socialize with multiple types of people.” Wilcox also says he believes the school system is better now than it was before the storm. “The school in your neighborhood might not be up to par,” he says. “You might need to go a few miles away to get a quality education.”

La. Given Poor Academic Rating

Report pans La. public school performance
According to a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Louisiana ranks among the lowest in the nation for public school performance. Louisiana received an F for academic achievement, readiness for college and careers, and international competitiveness. The group gave Louisiana a D-plus for the strength of state exams compared to national assessments, a B in teacher preparation, and an A for school choice.

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