Head of Lafayette Academy Charter School Mickey Landry listens to fourth-grader Tremeka Earl
Before Katrina, New Orleans School District schools were among the worst in the nation. Local businesspeople and parents put their faith in Charter Schools to combat the abysmal test scores and state takeovers of their public school systems. Charter Schools began popping up in urban New Orleans and have grown to become the predominant method of teaching New Orleans urban children. Charter Schools today comprise 60% of the entire school system. There are 37 traditionally run schools and 52 Charter schools now in the New Orleans system.
"Take, for instance, the students at Langston Hughes Academy (New Orleans). Once struggling to meet state testing standards, they're getting a lot of help to try and do better. Their learning environment has changed to one with electronic blackboards and teachers hailing from Ivy League schools.
The talk here is not about where to go after school, but where to go to college."
(USA Today)
Charter schools are public schools that use a mix of taxpayer funds and privately raised dollars to run their schools, said Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District, which took over the city's (New Orleans) worst-performing and flood-wrecked schools. They're free and open to all students but are independently managed by individuals or corporations. They run much the way businesses are: competing for students, top teachers and fundraising dollars.
Mr. Patin may tell Sylvia Schon there is a silver lining, but most people see the writing on the wall. The School system has failed the students, especially black students. Perhaps it is time the people take back their school board. This October is your chance to do exactly that. It is time we put educators at the helm in the Superintendent's position. It is time we get the board to sit down with Pat Morris and any parents who want a say in how the school system should be changed and improved. It is time the people take back what belongs to them.
They may want to silence Pat Morris in board meetings but she will not be silenced. Parents of the magnet program are running around trying to figure out what to do with no budget. The answer is, meet with Pat Morris. Talk about creating charter schools. Afterall, even the NAACP Attorney, Nelson Taylor runs a charter school in Baton Rouge. He has extended his hand to help Hammond open their own. It is time for the people to talk to Pat Morris, since it is rudely obvious that the school board will not.