Senate Education Committee Examines Recovery School District Performance

The Cowen Institute's policy team frames the issues impeding the success of the public education in New Orleans and develops and advances research-based policy and legislative solutions. We continuously inform leaders in local, state, and federal government of the issues relevant to the city’s system of public schools. Our team actively works with policymakers, administrators, and community leaders to advance solutions through advocacy efforts. This role is critical given the decentralized approach to operating schools in the city. Our efforts ensure the success of every public school in the city by advocating for adequate and equitable funding, safe facilities, an effective governance model, and strong accountability of schools.

The Louisiana Senate Education Committee met on Wednesday, January 26 to discuss a range of issues regarding the Recovery School District (RSD). Committee members present were Chairman Ben Nevers and Senators Conrad Appel, Jack Donahue, Yvonne Dorsey, Eric LaFleur, and Gerald Long. Senator Julie Quinn was not in attendance. Five other senators were appointed by the Senate President to serve as interim members of the committee for this specific meeting because they represent districts with RSD schools. They were: Senators Karen Carter-Peterson, J.P. Morrell, Ed Murray, Buddy Shaw, and Cynthia Willard-Lewis. Five House members also attended, although not in an official capacity since it was not a joint House-Senate meeting. They are: Representatives Stephen Carter, John Bel Edwards, Clifton Richardson, Harold Ritchie, and Pat Smith.

The meeting began with Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Penny Dastugue giving committee members an overview of the RSD. It was followed by a lengthy presentation by State Superintendent Paul Pastorek, RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas, and other state officials on the performance and operations of the RSD. The superintendents outlined the need for strong intervention to improve schools, the RSD’s mission and strategy for doing so, and the results of its efforts so far. Louisiana Department of Education Director of Policy Chris Meyer then discussed the RSD’s work in turning around failing schools, and RSD Deputy Superintendent of Operations Ramsey Green updated the committee on the RSD’s capital program.

After the presentation, the committee questioned Pastorek and the other officials on some of the big issues facing the RSD in New Orleans and in other parishes as well. In particular, committee members asked about the RSD’s plan to turn around struggling high schools, and why some charter schools are not doing as well as others. Questions also focused on the RSD’s plan for assigning schools to buildings in New Orleans, and some senators expressed frustration with the RSD’s process and handling of certain schools.

Finally, members from some local school boards appeared before the committee as well, including members of Orleans Parish School Board, who presented their case for regaining control of schools in New Orleans.

To watch the archived video of the meeting, click here. For the Times-Picayune’s coverage, click here, and for an article in The Advocate, click here.

RSD Concludes Public Meetings on School Facilities Assignments

Last week the Recovery School District (RSD) held the last of the five public meetings on its proposed school facilities assignments. Held at H.C. Schaumburg School, the meeting focused on schools in City Council District E. Over 150 people were in attendance, including State Senator Cynthia Willard-Lewis, City Councilmember Jon Johnson, and representatives from several schools and neighborhood organizations. As with the earlier meetings, RSD officials gave a presentation first, which was followed by a public comment period. The theme most often repeated during the comment period was that it is taking too long to get students into permanent facilities, especially those currently in modular buildings. Representatives from several schools in New Orleans East made this point. Several other speakers spoke about the need for schools in the Upper and Lower Ninth Wards. For a complete recap of the meeting, see this post on our blog. To read the Cowen Institute recaps of each facilities meeting, see the following posts on our blog: District A, District B, District C, District D.

With the public meetings now complete, the RSD will soon release the final version of its facilities assignment plan and present it to BESE for approval. For more on the SFMP and the facilities assignments, see www.rebuildingnolaschools.com, and to read our analysis of the initial draft assignments, click here.

Master Plan Oversight Committee Reviews SFMP Issues

The School Facilities Master Plan Oversight Committee held its first meeting of the year on January 24 and considered several matters relating to upcoming amendments to the School Facilities Master Plan (SFMP). First, the committee received and discussed a presentation on the recent demographic study of New Orleans’ population and student enrollment. Some committee members stressed the need to amend the SFMP to account for areas of projected growth, noting that many of the school buildings currently open are in low-growth areas. Orleans Parish Schools Superintendent Darryl Kilbert offered to help with this by providing data on building capacities and occupancy rates in schools currently operated or chartered by the Orleans Parish School Board. Recovery School District officials then informed the committee about three new working groups studying specific issues relevant to the SFMP – educational specifications, technical specifications, and renovation assessments. They also updated the committee on matters relating to the capital budget, including their work to obtain additional funding through New Markets Tax Credits.

Louisiana’s Charter School Law One of Nation’s Best

In January the National Association of Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) issued its annual rankings of state charter school laws, and for the second year in a row Louisiana ranked ninth in the country for the strength of its charter law. Measuring Up to the Model: A Ranking of State Public Charter School Laws analyzes the country’s 41 state charter laws and scores how well each supports charter school quality and growth based on the 20 essential components from the NAPCS’ model charter school law. Louisiana retained its high position despite considerable movement in the rankings due to many states amending their laws in an effort to win Race to the Top funding. To read NAPCS’ press release and the full report, click here , and for the Times-Picayune’s coverage, click here.

Orleans Parish School Board Completes Property Sale, Buys Headquarters

The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) announced last week that it had completed the sale of the Moss/Bauer clinic, one of the four surplus properties it auctioned off last summer. The board expects the sales of the other three to be complete within the next 30 days, and the four sales together will generate nearly $1.7 million for the OPSB.

The board also announced that it has purchased the Algiers office building where their central office is now headquartered for $6.3 million. After leasing space in the building since shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the board decided that it would be more efficient in the long run to buy the building and lease space to other tenants, according to OPSB Chief Financial Officer Stan Smith. He added that the board hopes to attract other education-related entities, including a parent information center run by the Urban League, and to create a public education hub. For more from the Times-Picayune on the property sale, click here , and on the building purchase, click here.

Panel to Discuss New Orleans' Historic African-American Public Schools

This Thursday, February 10, the Preservation Resource Center (PRC) will host a panel discussion on historic African-American schools in New Orleans. According to the PRC, “Landmarks in Trouble: New Orleans' Historic African-American Public Schools” will provide an account of the historic value and future plans for key public schools that carry major significance to the African-American community in New Orleans, including Booker T. Washington, Valena C. Jones, William Frantz, and McDonogh 19 (a.k.a, Louis Armstrong). The panelists will be:
• Leona Tate, one of three who desegregated McDonogh 19 in 1960
• Donna Fricker, Historian and PRC Board Member
• Rashida Ferdinand, Executive Director of Sankofa CDC and PRC Board Member
• Kenneth J. Ducote, Ph.D., AICP, Consulting and Research Services for Planning, Management and Education
• Moderated by Keith Medley, Writer/Historian

The event is free and open to the public, and is this Thursday, February 10, at 923 Tchoupitoulas St. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. For more information from the PRC, click here.

Congress Gears Up for ESEA Reauthorization

On the heels of President Obama’s call in his State of the Union speech to update the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), both the House and the Senate are now getting to work on rewriting the law, also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The House Education and Workforce Committee will hold its first hearing on federal K-12 education policy this Thursday; it will be interesting to see where the discussion goes with many new members and a new committee chairman, Representative John Kline of Minnesota. On the other side of Capitol Hill, Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said recently that his committee would begin writing legislation right away, with hopes of debating it in committee by Easter and on the Senate floor by summer. Senator Harkin doesn’t plan to hold any more hearings after having ten last year.

Some of the key issues lawmakers will debate are how to revise NCLB’s main school proficiency standard, Adequate Yearly Progress; how to improve teacher effectiveness measures; and how to improve the lowest performing schools while leaving states and districts great latitude to determine their own strategies. Keep an eye on Education Week’s Politics K-12 blog to follow the debate as it unfolds.

New Federal Education Data Website Launched

The U.S. Department of Education has launched a new website with a wealth of national and state education data. The United States Education Dashboard has data on several progress indicators in the areas of early learning through high school, postsecondary education, teachers and leaders, and more. The front page shows national information at a glance, and from there you can access detailed charts, tables, and state-by-state information. Check it out at dashboard.ed.gov.

National Photo and Essay Contest Focuses on PK-12 Public School Buildings

The 21st Century School Fund, Critical Exposure and Healthy Schools Campaign have announced the second annual Through Your Lens photo contest . Students, teachers, and community members are invited to submit their stories and photos of school building conditions. By sharing what they see every day at school, students and teachers can provide elected leaders with an honest window into today’s school buildings and encourage debate about state and federal funding for public school repair, renovation and construction. Selected photos and stories will be shown at a special exhibition in Washington, DC and many more entries will be published in a Through Your Lens book and online gallery. Five student winners will also receive a high-definition digital camcorder. Photos and essays will be accepted Feb. 1 to Feb. 22. Find out more at www.throughyourlens.org.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Senate Education Committee Examines Recovery School District Performance