Ben Franklin High School Performs Worse as a Charter School
A report by Dr. Barbara Ferguson that looks at school scores pre and post Katrina.
The report begins:
When Ben Franklin High School was operated by the Orleans Parish School Board in 2004-05, its School Performance Score was 200.5. Following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Ben Franklin became a charter school, and by 2007-08, its score decreased to 165.2.
Thus, traditionally operated schools are better than charter schools? Obviously, the conclusions about why some schools are better than others cannot be answered by focusing on governance alone. Yet, this is what a nonprofit organization tried to present as their argument for charter school reform at a recent forum...
Read full report here.
Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success
Time to Act pinpoints adolescent literacy as a cornerstone of the current education reform movement, upon which efforts such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act must be built. The report's recommendations intersect with the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competitive grant guidelines with their emphasis on standards and assessments, data systems, great teachers and leaders, and re-engineering struggling schools.
Time to Act is the capstone report of Carnegie Council for Advancing Adolescent Literacy (Council). Since 2004, under the direction of Council Chairperson Catherine Snow, professor in the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Council has gathered knowledge and ideas from experts nationwide on topics ranging from linguistics to the social science of teaching. Time to Act is released with five corresponding reports, which delve deeper into how to advance literacy and learning for all students, including such topics as the cost of implementing adolescent literacy programs and reading in the disciplines.
Click here to download a PDF of Time to Act.
Click here to download PDFs of corresponding reports:
Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy; Adolescent Literacy Development in Out of School Time: A Practitioner's Guide; Measure for Measure: A Critical Consumer's Guide to Reading Comprehension Assessments for Adolescents; Adolescent Literacy Programs: Costs of Implementation; and Adolescent Literacy and Textbooks: An Annotated Bibliography.
Dismantling a Community
A publication by the Center for Community Change that takes an indepth look at the value of a system of common schools and at what is lost when the old paradigm of a centralized, universal-access system of public schools is discarded. The story follows a chronology that begins before Hurricane Katrina and continues with the personal stories of 5 teachers and students in its aftermath through September 2006.
Read the full publication here.
Charter Schools and Equal Access
Dr. Barbara Ferguson, co-founder of The Center for Action Research on New Orleans School Reforms (a non-profit foundation dedicated to improving New Orleans schools through research) released a report in April 2009 examining the operation of New Orleans charter schools.
Here is an excerpt form the report:
...Many inequalities result when schools that do not provide equal access are called charter schools. The greatest inequity is that Louisiana awards its federal Charter School Program funds, in violation of federal law, to the charter schools without equal access. Another inequity is the misconception fostered that Louisiana charter schools are beating all odds and succeeding. Those successful charter schools with open admissions are beating all odds. But, those that choose students are not worthy of praise for beating the odds in educating disadvantaged children, simply because they are excluding these very students through academic admissions requirements...
Download a pdf of the full report here.
The Louisiana Recovery School District:
The Post-Katrina Saga of Thurgood Marshall School
Dr Raynard Sanders, co-founder of the Center for Action Research on New Orleans School Reforms, released a report examining the RSD's lack of support for the non-charter school Marhsall Middle School.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
...In November 2005, the Louisiana Department of Education assumed the awesome task of controlling over 100 schools in New Orleans, which were recently labeled failing schools. In assuming this task, then Governor Kathleen Blanco stated, "It took the storm of a lifetime to create the opportunity of a lifetime ... that the state take control and re- create" the New Orleans public schools. She went on to state that the takeover would create a "new birth of excellence and opportunity" for the city's schoolchildren...
...In examining what happened, one has to focus on the Recovery School District (RSD) as it was given the task of improving over 100 "failing" schools in New Orleans. RSD's strategic goals state that it will increase support toschools, and offer a superior learning environment for students returning toNew Orleans. A test of that RSD support can be assessed in the post-Katrina saga of Thurgood Marshall Middle School...
Download a pdf of the full report here.
The New Orleans Imperative: Quality Public Education for All Children
Dr Raynard Sanders, co-founder of the Center for Action Research on New Orleans School Reforms, released a report in February 2009 examining the pre and post-Hurricane Katrina state of our public school system.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
...Following Hurricane Katrina, the public school system has drastically changed. Local and state education officials decided (without public input) to convert all of the public schools in New Orleans into charter schools. In November 2005, the Louisiana Department of Education took over 102 schools, claiming they were failing schools, despite giving most of them awards for academic progress in May 2005. In announcing this change, they stated that “charter schools would be the answer to all the ills of public education in New Orleans”. This change has been labeled an “experiment” by state officials and national education experts...
Download a pdf of the full report 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 called Creating a Governing Framework for Public Education in New Orleans. 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.
The three reports are:
School District Political Leadership
The Central Office and the School
Charter School Authorizers and Charter School Operators
Read the Executive Summary
Schools Left Behind: An Analysis Map
A preliminary attempt created and updated by Francine Stock, a New Orleans-based visual resources curator, to evaluate which school facilities are left behind by the current version of the School Facilities Master Plan blueprint for Orleans Parish. Those with blue pins have links to photos and further descriptions. This map will be continually updated.
View: "Schools Left Behind: An Analysis Map"
ON THE BALLOT: Orleans Parish School Tax Renewals, July 2008
The Bureau of Governmental Research, an independent nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, has released this report dealing with the July 2008 Orleans Parish vote to decide whether to renew the millages currently dedicated to facilities improvements, instructional materials, employee compensation and other programs in the public schools in Orleans Parish. This document reviews the basics of the history of these millages, some important programs and improvements dependent upon them, and the realities of the impact -or lack there of- on taxpayers if the millages are renewed. It also goes on to discuss the specific purposes for each proposed renewal.
Download: "ON THE BALLOT: Orleans Parish School Tax Renewals, July 2008" (pdf)
GROWTH and DISPARITY: A Decade of U.S. Public School Construction
“Now, for the first time ever, this report provides a comprehensive analysis of who has benefited from school construction spending across the nation. In this report, the Building Educational Success Together (BEST) research team looks at how much was spent, what was accomplished, and which students and communities saw benefits. The analysis looks at the decade from 1995, when the GAO report was first released, to 2004, the most current information available.”
Download: "Growth and Disparity: A Decade of U.S. Public School Construction" (pdf)
The Race to Rebuild: The Color of Opportunity and the Future of New Orleans
This report, compiled by The Center for Social Inclusion, sets out to identify and explore the causes and consequences of social and racial divisions in New Orleans, and the effects of Hurricane Katrina on these issues. It takes a close look at various levels of the city's infrastructure including job markets, public transit, health care, child care and education. In addition, it provides Recovery Report Cards depicting the disparate levels of progress being made in neighborhoods throughout the city, and the relationship race may play in these differences. First hand stories provided by hurricane survivors supplement the data in the report and bring to life its significance. Lastly, analysis of current policies and recommendations for improvements suggest ways in which change can be brought about and New Orleans recovery goals can be met efficiently and for the benefit of all citizens.
Download: "The Race to Rebuild: The Color of Opportunity and the Future of New Orleans" (pdf)
New Orleans Recovery Report Cards
The “New Orleans Recovery Report Card” grades the likely ability of former residents of New Orleans to rebuild their lives. It is a tool for monitoring rebuilding progress and is updated monthly. It was initiated as part of the Center for Social Inclusion’s 2006 report on rebuilding policies and alternatives, “Race to Rebuild:The Color of Opportunity and the Future of New Orleans”.
Download: "New Orleans Recovery Report Card - February 2008" (pdf)
Download: "New Orleans Recovery Report Card - May 2008" (pdf)
The State of Public Education in New Orleans - 2007 Report
Created by The Boston Consulting Group, The Greater New Orleans Education Foundation, Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, and The New Orleans City Council Education Committee and released in June of 2007, The State of Public Education in New Orleans report assesses the new and unique system of public schools in New Orleans that has risen in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. It analyzes the changes that have taken place, both positive and negative, and offers recommendations for the next few years as to how local, state, and federal entities can help support and achieve the goal of high quality public schools for all students. The report concludes with a message of urgency and call for immediate action in order to invoke lasting positive change for the future of public schools in New Orleans.
Download: "The State of Public Education in New Orleans - 2007 Report" (pdf)
The State of Public Education in New Orleans - 2008 Report
The Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, in partnership with The Greater New Orleans Education Foundation and The New Orleans City Council Education Committee, have released their second annual report of, "The State of Public Education in New Orleans".
Download: "The State of Public Education in New Orleans - 2008 Report" (pdf)
