An Intern’s Perspective: Andrew Gilboard

Each semester, the Cowen Institute hosts Tulane undergraduates that are completing their required internship through the Center for Public Service.  This is a guest post written by a research intern offering up his perspective on his experience, some of his most important research findings, and his thoughts on public education in New Orleans.

My time spent at the Cowen Institute this semester has been a new and interesting experience. I was exposed to education policy for the first time and received first hand experience with the unique and sometimes controversial New Orleans public and charter school system. I worked with a devoted team that cares immensely about their work and the reformation that they hope to bring to what was a failing school system.

Some of my work involved reading through the roles and responsibilities of the four main governing bodies of public education in Louisiana, in an effort to find both overlaps in jurisdiction as well as gaps in governance amongst the four groups. I particularly enjoyed being able to learn about charter school governance through my research, as well as being able to identify gaps in the system and where corrections could, and potentially should, be made.

My final project focused on developing a database of all New Orleans charter school boards of directors. The database includes who the members are, where they reside, what their occupation is, and how each member is elected or appointed. The database also highlights any Tulane affiliations each organization might have.  I found that there are currently 303 identifiable charter board members. Of these 303 board members:

• 95% live in Orleans Parish
• 173 are male, 130 are female
• 66 board members are educators or school administrators
• 6 charter boards have members with a Tulane affiliation
• Each organization consists of between 7-19 members

Many of the charter board members are lawyers or accountants, and often times many members of the same boards come from the same law firm or company. A large number of board members are affiliated with the University of New Orleans as well.

It is my belief that most of these charter organizations are not transparent enough, providing inadequate information to stakeholders with interests in the schools. At times it became difficult to track down information on charter boards and their members. It is the responsibility of each charter board to communicate effectively to the parents of its students and other interested community members.  Currently, many of these boards fail to make information as readily accessible as it should be. Solutions to this problem are simple and could include listing board members and their occupations, as well as advertising meeting times, agendas, and minutes on school websites.

I really appreciate the knowledge I’ve gained and the exposure I’ve had to such a vital part of society as public education. Coming into the internship I knew relatively little about the state of the New Orleans school system.  I had only heard that it was “sub-par.” This internship experience gave me first-hand insight into the specific issues and problems that the New Orleans education system faces daily, as well as to the multitude of solutions that the Cowen Institute tries to develop and help implement in order to improve education for the thousands of children attending public schools in the city. My interest in public policy was expanded by my exposure to issues in public education. What strikes me as most important about the Cowen Institute’s mission is that the work they do in New Orleans is replicable to all failing school systems nationwide. I hope to be able to parlay what I learned over this past semester into similarly meaningful work as I pursue a career path in policy work.

Andrew Gilboard is a senior from Andover, Massachusetts. He is graduating from Tulane in May with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Business. Prior to joining the Cowen Institute staff, Andrew spent time working at the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. After graduation, Andrew hopes to work in consulting and attend law school.