Board members for the Morris Jeff Community School spent much of their Dec. 11 meeting shoring up ways they hope to strengthen their governance over the 275-student campus. The board, which has already started holding monthly workshops to educate board members, formally assigned the following board committees. Finance: treasurer Melissa Jagers and Jennifer Weishaupt. Governance: […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
New Orleans College Prep to take over Crocker in June
New Orleans College Prep leaders on Saturday laid out their plans to take over Crocker Arts and Technology this summer. News of the management transfer came last week after the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted not to renew Crocker’s charter due to its students’ poor standardized test scores. Crocker’s school performance score […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Dr. King Charter forgoes chance to rejoin Orleans Parish district
Dr. King Charter School will not be rejoining the Orleans Parish School District. Its governing board, Friends of King, last week decided against sending a letter of intent to leave the Recovery School District and rejoin the local school district as its improved academic performance allows. Principal Doris Hicks told the board during its Dec. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Overlooked population metric key to analyzing state’s performance
Hurricane Katrina hurt Louisiana, says ex-Gov. Roemer, but “Louisiana was already hurting.” The reasons why are complex. A solution begins with dedicated trust funds for the state’s colleges and universities. photo: NASA It’s surprisingly difficult to measure how a state is “doing.” Politicians do a lot of bragging about what they’ve accomplished but tend to […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
ReNEW votes to add another school to its network
ReNEW’s board of directors voted Thursday to expand the four-school network by taking on another school next year. ReNEW currently serves about 2,400 students and with the additional elementary school, the network will aim to serve 3,300 students. Encouraged by the Recovery School District to apply for another charter last year, ReNEW did just that […]
Posted inLand Use, Squandered Heritage
Wrecking ball for Booker T, but auditorium to be spared
“Selective demolition” lies ahead for a school with a storied past. photo: Karen Gadbois Demolition of Booker T. Washington High School, on Earhart Boulevard near the B.W. Cooper public housing development, is now under way, but plans call for preserving the school’s storied auditorium. The auditorium, in ruins since Katrina, will be refurbished. photo: Andy […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Pride College Prep leaders prepare to release control to new hands
In their first meeting since the state leaders decided against extending Pride College Prep’s charter, board members overseeing the school grappled Monday with how exactly to turn the campus over to new management. When the Pride’s charter ends on June 30, 2013, the 330-student school will likely be taken over by ARISE Academy, Pride school […]
Posted inInside the News Room
The Lens awarded $25,000 for charter school reporting project
Recognizing the important coverage of charter schools by The Lens, two local philanthropies have made another round of grants, this year totaling $25,000. The Greater New Orleans Foundation today awarded $10,000 in an IMPACT 2012 grant to The Lens’ Charter School Reporting Corps, a two-year-old effort aimed at covering the city’s 50-plus charter school boards. This […]
Posted inInvestigations, Land Use
Discovery of human remains delays Iberville redevelopment
Charmaine Williams, second from left, goes for a walk with her grandchildren Keah Williams, 15 months, left, and Richard ‘Ricky’ Farrell III, 3; and daughter, SaYann Williams, 16, right, in the Iberville public housing development. They can see St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, in the background, from their front stoop. Archaeologists have confirmed that part […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Report: Teacher pension plans drowning in red ink nationwide
The accrued deficit that now plagues Louisiana’s teacher pension plan is part of a 40-state trend, according to a report released Thursday by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana’s $10.8 billion deficit is part of a larger sea of red ink resulting from risky investments, erroneous market predictions and […]