Education Reform in New Orleans Public Schools “In the nearly 5 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans a fundamentally different public education system has emerged.” Presentation Based on: The State of Public Education in New Orleans 2010 Report By Michael Schwam-Baird &Laura Mogg New Orleans Learning Opportunity: A Conference on the Progress of New Orleans Educational Reform Efforts. November 2009 Facilitated by Dr. Stacey Childress, Jim Peyser, and Dr. Anthony Recasner

2 New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS) Schwam-Bird & Mogg 2009 Pre Katrina2009 Students65,00038,000 African American Enrollment93%90% Receiving Free or Reduced Lunch77%82%

3 NOPS Prior to Hurricane Katrina Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB): 7-member locally elected; controlled nearly all public schools Public schools were failing young people In 2005, district ranked 67th out of 68 Louisiana parishes in student performance Largest racial performance gap in state: Black students scoring 51% behind white peers

4 Hurricane Katrina: accelerator, not cause of reform – In 2003, state initiated state-run Recovery School District (RSD) to take over failing schools for 5 years In 2004 RSD takes over first school By 2005 RSD has control of 4 schools – In 2004, state legislation gives state superintendent control over financial management and personnel, thus limiting OPSB’s power.

5 Hurricane Katrina: accelerator, not cause of reform Following Katrina, state power increases to intervene in districts ‘academically in crisis’ – RSD could take over school if the School Performance Score (SPS) fell below the State average RSD eligible score before Katrina= 60 RSD eligible score after Katrina= 86.2 – Enabled RSD to take over 100 additional schools (up from 4 pre Katrina)

6 What is the Recovery School District? RSD: special district administered by the Louisiana Dept of Education & Supt Paul Vallas – Schools fail to meet state minimum academic standards for at least 4 consecutive years eligible for RSD take over – 1 in 3 RSD schools led by high-quality leaders from NLNS, BES, TFA, NSNO, KIPP – Schools recruit, retain, & promote teachers and staff based on qualifications and performance rather than seniority – Parents have the choice to select among two dozen high schools and 50 elementary school

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8 More students scoring basic and above in New Orleans compared to LA Point Gains

& 2009 Performance Labels for Public Schools In New Orleans Louisiana Department of Education