What’s on the Horizon for Public Education in New Orleans?

So, what is happening related to education these days? There hasn’t been too much in the news, in the editorial pages or swirling around generally. Schools are buckling down for the last stretch before state testing and trying to bring their students (or everyone) out of the Mardi Gras haze. And, new charter leaders are getting prepared for the next school year. But, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t huge things on the horizon for K-12 in New Orleans that we need to be thinking about. Paul Vallas is moving on to Chile and, as stated by Superintendent Pastorek, the new Superintendent of the Recovery School District (RSD) could be named by late April. This is a pretty big deal. A few things that the new Superintendent may want to consider:

1. Increase scores at the traditionally operated RSD schools. Out of the 23 RSD run schools all, but 1 are either on academic watch or are academically unacceptable.
2. Clarify the roles of the RSD, the LDE, and charter schools. While we refer to Type 5 charter schools as “RSD charters,” they are their own local education agencies authorized by BESE and their relationship to the RSD is undefined.  What responsibility the RSD has for their oversight and where the LDE fits in remains unclear to both the public and the involved parties. 
3. Ensure transparency in the RSD processes. The RSD currently lacks transparency in its processes. This hinders the RSD’s ability to gain trust from its schools, the community and education stakeholders, which prohibits full cooperation of the school community with the RSD. 

Next month we will publish a paper on the history of the RSD, so be sure to watch for it!

The next big topic that is on the horizon is facilities. The RSD just finished a round of public meetings on the School Facilities Master Plan (SFMP) in each City Council district. The main purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from the public on the assignment of schools to buildings. Currently, a group of national consultants and local subject matter experts have been meeting to make recommendations for changes to the SFMP. They will present these changes to Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) in April. The RSD will then hold community meetings on these recommendations in May. In June, the RSD will ask OPSB and BESE to vote to approve these recommendations.

Make sure to check out our paper on the new demographic study for the SFMP that comes out in April for a closer look at where schools are being built, where our populations are and how much money we have spent!

All of this is to say that a lot of decisions will be made in the upcoming months related to public education in New Orleans. So, stay engaged and we will keep you updated as meetings and decisions unfold!