Parents at the troubled Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans charter school on Monday met the woman temporarily charged with leading the school out of a rocky period. Gisele Schexnider introduced herself as the new academic director to parents during their regular parent teacher organization’s meeting Monday night and said she would be serving as the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
No clear answers on what city water rate increase would pay for
Less than two days before the New Orleans City Council decides whether to double water and sewer rates over eight years, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and city officials haven’t explained exactly how the $583 million in extra money would be spent. The Lens has asked the Sewerage & Water Board for concrete answers since Thursday but […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
BESE approves online providers despite judge nixing pay plan
Forty-five online schools, colleges, and other educators are one step closer to instructing Louisiana public school students, a committee from the state’s top education board decided Tuesday. That’s despite a ruling by a Baton Rouge-area judge last week that using state education money to pay these providers violate the Louisiana constitution. The Board of Elementary […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council president seeks delay of vote on huge water-rate increase
New Orleans City Council President Stacy Head accused Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Monday of trying to ram a doubling of sewage and water rates through the council on Thursday, without, she said, the issue having been fully vetted. Head is asking her colleagues to postpone the vote because she said the Sewerage & Water Board […]
Posted inOpinion
Hey, mister! Throw me some hydrochlorofluorocarbons!
“Honey, don’t bother,” the older woman beside me said as I tidied up my bit of St. Charles Avenue turf after my first Carnival parade. Her hand swept downriver toward Canal Street, encompassing miles of plastic cups, food wrappers and shattered Mardi Gras beads left in the krewe’s wake. The Sav-A-Center bag I was stuffing […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board adopts guiding principles, discusses fundraising and outreach
At their November meeting, FirstLine board members adopted a list of five guiding principles for governance, unanimously elected two new board members and viewed a lengthy development committee presentation focused on raising money to replace fading start-up and turn-around money for FirstLine schools. “New Orleans has a rare opportunity to set up a structure that […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
IHS board delays executive session regarding personnel
The International High School governing board deferred plans to meet behind closed doors after a reporter objected to the executive session listed on the board’s Nov. 28 meeting agenda. Public school boards are bound by state law to conduct all business in a public meeting, save for specified exceptions that allow public bodies to meet […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board says RSD will recommend against charter renewal
The Ben Mays Preparatory Board of Directors is seeking pro-bono legal advice in its fight to keep the neighborhood school open beyond the end of the school year. The Recovery School District will recommend not renewing the school’s charter due to consistently low school performance scores, board members said during the Nov. 27 monthly board […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board nixes plan to split Camp and Olivier campuses by grade level
International School of Louisiana’s Wednesday board meeting confirmed that the plan to split the Camp St. and Olivier St. campuses by grade levels is off the table. The board is exploring nearby facilities and modulars to ease the over-capacity at Camp St. campus. The board and administration set up a decision matrix that weighs five […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
KIPP votes to stay with RSD
“What is OPSB (Orleans Parish School Board) going to promise us that these schools are going to say at the level they’re at now? I don’t think they’ll do a great job because they haven’t in the past,” Cindy Williams, parent of a KIPP student said at Thursday night’s meeting. The KIPP board held meetings […]