Behind The Lens episode 231: ‘We cannot allow it to fail’

Katy Reckdahl and La'Shance Perry on the loss of musician Kerry "Fatman" Hunter. Marta Jewson and Dr. Ashonta Wyatt on the district's decision to open a direct-run school at Lafayette.

This week on Behind The Lens, the community lost another great musician on Mardi Gras morning when Kerry “Fatman” Hunter was killed after he was struck by a car.

And the Orleans Parish School Board voted last month to keep a beloved school open as a direct-run institution. Though the district has run a handful of schools in recent years, taking over in emergency situations, the Leah Chase School will be first direct-run intentionally opened in the post-Katrina era.

Our guests this week are Lens photojournalist La’Shance Perry, education reporter and Deputy Editor Marta Jewson, special guest Dr. Ashonta Wyatt, former principal of Spirit of Excellence Academy, and Lens editor Katy Reckdahl. 

Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music The Dirty by Podington Bear soundofpicture.com and Get Your Mind Right by the New Birth Brass Band.

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Carolyne Heldman

Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.