The State of Public Education in New Orleans: Five Years after Hurricane Katrina In August 2005, New Orleans was devastated by flooding due to levee failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The storm and the subsequent flooding killed over 1,000 people, displaced the entire city’s population, and created billions of dollars worth of damage to public and private property. The hurricane also changed the political landscape of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, allowing different group to push for change. The new political landscape created by the hurricane had a major effect on the city’s public school system, which was one of the lowest performing in the country. This report explains and illustrates the evolution of this radical change in the public education landscape of New Orleans. The city’s residents and the state government face a number of open questions about the future of public education in New Orleans including: Who will govern and operate schools? Who will teach? How much school choice is optimal? We hope that this documentwill continue to inform our community as we seek to answer these questions. Click here to more read about and download the report.
Development of a User-Friendly Virtual Data Center for Education Stakeholders
A decentralized system of schools, like that in New Orleans, requires access to timely information about schools and districts for parents, educators, administrators, researchers, and other stakeholders. A number of problems currently exist in the area of data access and transparency. Currently, the totality of information available to the public is broken up and stored in a number of spreadsheets and PDFs on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website. Questions about student demographics, mobility, special education student services, teacher turnover, and student achievement, among others can only be answered with available state data if one knows where to find and how to parse this data. Given the current challenge of data access and transparency, the Cowen Institute has embarked on a project to create a virtual data center for all education stakeholders in New Orleans. The Institute’s goal is to create and maintain a database that compiles publicly available state education data (including student demographics and achievement as well as budgeting and finance data) into a user-friendly web-based system that can respond to queries and produce easy-to-understand reports.
Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Charter School Renewal Process
While BESE, one of the state’s charter school authorizers, has gone through the process of evaluating and renewing charter school contracts before, this year is the first in which the board will consider the renewal of Type 5 charter schools (the low-performing schools taken over by the Recovery School District and chartered by BESE). It also marks the beginning of a number of upcoming years in which many Type 5 charter schools will come up for renewal.
With these critical decisions approaching, the Cowen Institute has released a brief titled Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Charter School Renewal Process in which we review national best practices and compare Louisiana’s laws and policies to what well-respected national organizations recommend. We also describe the current year’s renewal policies and offer observations about how BESE’s policies have or have not been implemented. Lastly, we make recommendations for how the process can be improved for schools that will be applying for charter renewals in the coming years.
Managing Innovation: Models for Governing the System of Public Schools in New Orleans Tulane University’s Cowen Institute and the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) have released Managing Innovation: Models for Governing the System of Public Schools in New Orleans.The report presents five potential models for governing public schools in New Orleans and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. To read more about and download the report, click here.
Currently, New Orleans is in the midst of a sweeping reform movement, the scale of which has been seen in few cities. Two efforts, in particular, have defined the movement: the state takeover of most public schools in New Orleans and an explosion in the number of public charter schools. New Orleans has proportionately more charter schools than any other school system in the nation. Harnessing the potential of the reform movement and addressing the challenges created by the current complex system requires a new approach to education governance.
Most discussions relating to school governance focus on issues of control, such as the method of selecting board members. Managing Innovation goes beyond the traditional line of inquiry to a more fundamental issue: How should the school system in New Orleans be structured to allow the reforms under way to succeed and prosper?
To help answer the question, the report identifies the governance functions critical to the operation of the school system; presents five potential models for allocating those functions to various entities; and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. The models range from highly consolidated, with one entity responsible for all school governance functions to relatively dispersed. Managing Innovation does not recommend a specific model for structuring education governance in New Orleans. Rather, the models are offered as a starting point for a public conversation on the future of education governance in New Orleans.
New Orleans faces an unprecedented challenge in creating a new governance structure that meets the needs of a diverse and innovative network of schools. Getting there will require intellectual rigor, integrity and political will. It will also take time. The process should begin immediately.
To read the governance reports previously released by the Cowen Institute, click here.
2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans Report The Cowen Institute has released the 2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans report which provides a comprehensive survey of quantitative data and public opinion about what is working and not working in our public schools – sharing the voice of the educators, parents, and voters. It is important that decisions affecting public schools and students in New Orleans be informed decisions, based on research and the needs and desires of the people most impacted.
The report also offers a set of successes that schools have achieved over the past two years as well as key challenges that still face public education in New Orleans. The report is designed to help policymakers, educators, parents, nonprofit organizations, and the community understand how public schools in New Orleans have progressed over time and also how they compare to schools around Louisiana and the United States. This is the third State of Public Education in New Orleans report published by the Cowen Institute.
In addition to explaining how the current system emerged after Hurricane Katrina, the report gives detailed information on student demographics, school facilities, school finances, school choice and human capital. The 2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans report also provides detailed student achievement data by school and survey results from a recent public opinion poll on school governance.
For more information and to download the report, click here.
Public Education Through the Public Eye: A Survey of New Orleans Voters and Parents The Cowen Institute has released the results of a recent public opinion poll called Public Education through the Public Eye: A Survey of New Orleans Voters and Parents. The opinion poll surveyed New Orleans voters and parents of public school students to assess their opinions about recent public education reforms and the future direction of public schools in New Orleans. No previous survey has delved this deeply into the public’s opinions about and experiences with school reform and governance since Hurricane Katrina.
Few cities have the opportunity to think through the organization of their public education system in the way that the city of New Orleans has had and will continue to have over the next few years. As part of the Cowen Institute’s work of informing the educational transformation taking place in New Orleans, giving voice to citizens and parents is crucial to sustaining positive change.
For more information on this opinion poll including full voter survey results, please click here.
Creating a Governing Framework for Public Education in New Orleans The Cowen Institute has released the first three reports in a series of papers on public school governance. The series is the first of its kind in New Orleans to look at governing framework options for all public schools in New Orleans. The overall goal of the study is to lay out options for the roles and responsibilities for all governing entities in public education in order to support a system of high-performing public schools. With a mayoral race, a legislative session, and federal Race to the Top applications coming up, this information is critical and timely – not only for New Orleans but to public school districts across the country. Under state law, the Recovery School District must make a recommendation in 2010 as to whether some or all of the schools it took over after Katrina should return to local control. The citizens of New Orleans must now begin to consider the long-term structure that ensures that every child has access to a high-performing public school. The purpose of this series is to inform that dialogue. [more info]
Education Transformation Online Research Archive The Cowen Institute’s research archive is a powerful tool to inform the public about the transformation of public education in New Orleans and influence New Orleans’ transformation with ideas and lessons from around the world. The archive allows researchers, educators, and the public to access information directly relevant to the process of school system reform in New Orleans. Foremost, it is a repository of studies, papers, articles, and case studies written about New Orleans public education. The archive houses documents produced by outside individuals and organizations as well as papers written by the Cowen Institute and its partners. In addition, the archive hosts a selection of documents that analyze the process of school and school system transformation in other places that are directly relevant to the New Orleans experience. This part of the archive emphasizes the role of charter and other autonomous schools, and maintain an exclusive focus on school operations and governance. [Visit the archive]
The Study of the Transformation of Public Education in New Orleans The Cowen Institute has partnered with the RAND Corporation, an internationally recognized research organization, to conduct a two-phase study to measure the impact of the radical changes that have taken place in our schools on student achievement. In the first phase, RAND and Cowen Institute researchers will use interviews, surveys of principals, teachers, and parents, and a review of state and local data and policies to examine how different types of schools in New Orleans have organized their school governance, operations, and curriculum. This phase will also examine how various stakeholders perceive the effectiveness of different types of schools. In the second phase, RAND researchers will use information from the first phase, combined with three years of student test data, to examine what effects different types of schools and school characteristics have had on student outcomes. Phase I and Phase II of this project are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.[more info]
Research Consortium on K-12 Public Education in New Orleans The Cowen Institute seeks to develop an education research consortium in New Orleans on the model of similar consortia in Chicago and New York. The consortium would be governed by a board made up of representatives from the school districts, charter schools, and research universities. The consortium board would set priorities for research projects on public education in New Orleans and the consortium’s staff would coordinate the projects in partnership with researchers from universities or other research organizations. This effort is still in the planning phase.
Current Research Projects
The State of Public Education in New Orleans: Five Years after Hurricane Katrina
In August 2005, New Orleans was devastated by flooding due to levee failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The storm and the subsequent flooding killed over 1,000 people, displaced the entire city’s population, and created billions of dollars worth of damage to public and private property. The hurricane also changed the political landscape of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, allowing different group to push for change. The new political landscape created by the hurricane had a major effect on the city’s public school system, which was one of the lowest performing in the country. This report explains and illustrates the evolution of this radical change in the public education landscape of New Orleans. The city’s residents and the state government face a number of open questions about the future of public education in New Orleans including: Who will govern and operate schools? Who will teach? How much school choice is optimal? We hope that this documentwill continue to inform our community as we seek to answer these questions. Click here to more read about and download the report.
Development of a User-Friendly Virtual Data Center for Education Stakeholders
A decentralized system of schools, like that in New Orleans, requires access to timely information about schools and districts for parents, educators, administrators, researchers, and other stakeholders. A number of problems currently exist in the area of data access and transparency. Currently, the totality of information available to the public is broken up and stored in a number of spreadsheets and PDFs on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website. Questions about student demographics, mobility, special education student services, teacher turnover, and student achievement, among others can only be answered with available state data if one knows where to find and how to parse this data. Given the current challenge of data access and transparency, the Cowen Institute has embarked on a project to create a virtual data center for all education stakeholders in New Orleans. The Institute’s goal is to create and maintain a database that compiles publicly available state education data (including student demographics and achievement as well as budgeting and finance data) into a user-friendly web-based system that can respond to queries and produce easy-to-understand reports.
Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Charter School Renewal Process
While BESE, one of the state’s charter school authorizers, has gone through the process of evaluating and renewing charter school contracts before, this year is the first in which the board will consider the renewal of Type 5 charter schools (the low-performing schools taken over by the Recovery School District and chartered by BESE). It also marks the beginning of a number of upcoming years in which many Type 5 charter schools will come up for renewal.
With these critical decisions approaching, the Cowen Institute has released a brief titled Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in the Charter School Renewal Process in which we review national best practices and compare Louisiana’s laws and policies to what well-respected national organizations recommend. We also describe the current year’s renewal policies and offer observations about how BESE’s policies have or have not been implemented. Lastly, we make recommendations for how the process can be improved for schools that will be applying for charter renewals in the coming years.
Click here to read an excerpt or download the entire document.
Managing Innovation: Models for Governing the System of Public Schools in New Orleans
Tulane University’s Cowen Institute and the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) have released Managing Innovation: Models for Governing the System of Public Schools in New Orleans. The report presents five potential models for governing public schools in New Orleans and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. To read more about and download the report, click here.
Currently, New Orleans is in the midst of a sweeping reform movement, the scale of which has been seen in few cities. Two efforts, in particular, have defined the movement: the state takeover of most public schools in New Orleans and an explosion in the number of public charter schools. New Orleans has proportionately more charter schools than any other school system in the nation. Harnessing the potential of the reform movement and addressing the challenges created by the current complex system requires a new approach to education governance.
Most discussions relating to school governance focus on issues of control, such as the method of selecting board members. Managing Innovation goes beyond the traditional line of inquiry to a more fundamental issue: How should the school system in New Orleans be structured to allow the reforms under way to succeed and prosper?
To help answer the question, the report identifies the governance functions critical to the operation of the school system; presents five potential models for allocating those functions to various entities; and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. The models range from highly consolidated, with one entity responsible for all school governance functions to relatively dispersed. Managing Innovation does not recommend a specific model for structuring education governance in New Orleans. Rather, the models are offered as a starting point for a public conversation on the future of education governance in New Orleans.
New Orleans faces an unprecedented challenge in creating a new governance structure that meets the needs of a diverse and innovative network of schools. Getting there will require intellectual rigor, integrity and political will. It will also take time. The process should begin immediately.
To read the governance reports previously released by the Cowen Institute, click here.
2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans Report
The Cowen Institute has released the 2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans report which provides a comprehensive survey of quantitative data and public opinion about what is working and not working in our public schools – sharing the voice of the educators, parents, and voters. It is important that decisions affecting public schools and students in New Orleans be informed decisions, based on research and the needs and desires of the people most impacted.
The report also offers a set of successes that schools have achieved over the past two years as well as key challenges that still face public education in New Orleans. The report is designed to help policymakers, educators, parents, nonprofit organizations, and the community understand how public schools in New Orleans have progressed over time and also how they compare to schools around Louisiana and the United States. This is the third State of Public Education in New Orleans report published by the Cowen Institute.
In addition to explaining how the current system emerged after Hurricane Katrina, the report gives detailed information on student demographics, school facilities, school finances, school choice and human capital. The 2010 State of Public Education in New Orleans report also provides detailed student achievement data by school and survey results from a recent public opinion poll on school governance.
For more information and to download the report, click here.
Public Education Through the Public Eye: A Survey of New Orleans Voters and Parents
The Cowen Institute has released the results of a recent public opinion poll called Public Education through the Public Eye: A Survey of New Orleans Voters and Parents. The opinion poll surveyed New Orleans voters and parents of public school students to assess their opinions about recent public education reforms and the future direction of public schools in New Orleans. No previous survey has delved this deeply into the public’s opinions about and experiences with school reform and governance since Hurricane Katrina.
Few cities have the opportunity to think through the organization of their public education system in the way that the city of New Orleans has had and will continue to have over the next few years. As part of the Cowen Institute’s work of informing the educational transformation taking place in New Orleans, giving voice to citizens and parents is crucial to sustaining positive change.
For more information on this opinion poll including full voter survey results, please click here.
Creating a Governing Framework for Public Education in New Orleans
The Cowen Institute has released the first three reports in a series of papers on public school governance. The series is the first of its kind in New Orleans to look at governing framework options for all public schools in New Orleans. The overall goal of the study is to lay out options for the roles and responsibilities for all governing entities in public education in order to support a system of high-performing public schools. With a mayoral race, a legislative session, and federal Race to the Top applications coming up, this information is critical and timely – not only for New Orleans but to public school districts across the country. Under state law, the Recovery School District must make a recommendation in 2010 as to whether some or all of the schools it took over after Katrina should return to local control. The citizens of New Orleans must now begin to consider the long-term structure that ensures that every child has access to a high-performing public school. The purpose of this series is to inform that dialogue.
[more info]
Education Transformation Online Research Archive
The Cowen Institute’s research archive is a powerful tool to inform the public about the transformation of public education in New Orleans and influence New Orleans’ transformation with ideas and lessons from around the world. The archive allows researchers, educators, and the public to access information directly relevant to the process of school system reform in New Orleans. Foremost, it is a repository of studies, papers, articles, and case studies written about New Orleans public education. The archive houses documents produced by outside individuals and organizations as well as papers written by the Cowen Institute and its partners. In addition, the archive hosts a selection of documents that analyze the process of school and school system transformation in other places that are directly relevant to the New Orleans experience. This part of the archive emphasizes the role of charter and other autonomous schools, and maintain an exclusive focus on school operations and governance.
[Visit the archive]
The Study of the Transformation of Public Education in New Orleans
The Cowen Institute has partnered with the RAND Corporation, an internationally recognized research organization, to conduct a two-phase study to measure the impact of the radical changes that have taken place in our schools on student achievement. In the first phase, RAND and Cowen Institute researchers will use interviews, surveys of principals, teachers, and parents, and a review of state and local data and policies to examine how different types of schools in New Orleans have organized their school governance, operations, and curriculum. This phase will also examine how various stakeholders perceive the effectiveness of different types of schools. In the second phase, RAND researchers will use information from the first phase, combined with three years of student test data, to examine what effects different types of schools and school characteristics have had on student outcomes. Phase I and Phase II of this project are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. [more info]
Research Consortium on K-12 Public Education in New Orleans
The Cowen Institute seeks to develop an education research consortium in New Orleans on the model of similar consortia in Chicago and New York. The consortium would be governed by a board made up of representatives from the school districts, charter schools, and research universities. The consortium board would set priorities for research projects on public education in New Orleans and the consortium’s staff would coordinate the projects in partnership with researchers from universities or other research organizations. This effort is still in the planning phase.