Armed by scientific studies, reading experts urged a resurgence of phonics, which helps children learn to read by sounding-out words, in a way well-known to older generations. But the state’s third graders are still struggling from their Zoom-heavy start to reading.
Posted inOpinion
Nothing is ever black and white on a plantation
The recent fire at Nottoway Plantation, which reduced the “big house” to ashes, serves as a stark reminder of the complexities we navigate to uncover the truth of our history.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Only those who have experienced jail can understand the bigger picture
In New Orleans, where incarceration touches nearly every block, jail population counts are much more than numbers – they represent families fractured, futures derailed, and communities under pressure.
Posted inOpinion
The New Orleans jailbreak: crisis, blame, and a system built to break
Some of the loudest voices talking about problems that led to the jailbreak are the same ones who’ve supported underfunding and cuts to social services, education, and mental-health programs—drivers of crime and incarceration in the first place.
Posted inEnvironment
Tracking the sediment carried by the muddy Mississippi
New research shows that typically, less than 10% of land-building alluvium reaches the Bird’s Foot Delta region, the southernmost reach of the river, where it meets the Gulf.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge’s order requires Farm Line ‘be treated with human decency’
For the second consecutive year, a federal judge tells the DOC to provide Farm Line workers with protections from the sweltering Louisiana heat.
Posted inCriminal Justice
‘It’s just not fair’
Nearly 1,000 Louisiana prisoners, including a Jefferson Parish man convicted by an 11-1 jury verdict, hope for relief in a non-unanimous jury bill that could hit the Senate floor on Wednesday.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 273: ‘Caught in the lurch’
Delaney Dryfoos on the the largest new delta in North America. Marta Jewson on how the decentralized New Orleans school district caught one special education student in the lurch between NOLA Public Schools and KIPP New Orleans.
Posted inSchools
KIPP and NOLA Public Schools argue over special education of a kindergartener
Parents said that their young child was too sick to go to school. But the school disagreed, and so the child received no services last year, then started this year with no services. It’s still unclear who’s to blame — and how to catch other students before they fall through the cracks.
Posted inOpinion
Working for bike safety, after suffering a severe bicycling injury
Bejasa, an avid bicyclist who spent three months in a wheelchair after being hit by a car, asks Lens readers to join her at two upcoming bicycle-safety events this weekend. See details below.