After the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal became national news, state Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, sponsored legislation requiring coaches to report suspected child abuse. State Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, also filed a bill, one that extended whistleblower protections to employees who report abuse of a minor by a co-worker or supervisor. The bills […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Live blog Friday: Symposium on violent crime in New Orleans
The Lens live-blogged a criminal-justice symposium, “Preventing Lethal Violence in New Orleans,” at Loyola University on Friday. The event aimed to highlight “effective community-based solutions” to the city’s struggle with violent crime. New Orleans could use some effective, community-based solutions, considering that six people were shot on Tuesday alone, one fatally. New Orleans Police Superintendent […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations, Schools
School music programs, marching bands staging post-Katrina comeback
Sitting still doesn’t come naturally to a lot of kids. Getting students to sit still long enough to learn is often the teachers’ hardest job. But weeks before school officially began at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology, eager students sat for hours at a time, practicing their horns under […]
Posted inOpinion
Dead end at West End? What's the delay in rebuilding this jewel?
While the Livaudais Plantation was being parceled out in the 1830s to form the city’s fabled Garden District, New Orleans’ West End was already coming into its own as a lakeside resort and center of maritime commerce. Today, seven years after Hurricane Katrina, it stands as flashing beacon of stalled post-storm recovery. Never has the […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
KIPP Schools board meeting agenda released
Review the agenda for the KIPP board meeting here.
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
NET Charter board meeting agenda released
Reveiw the NET Charter board meeting agenda here.
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
[Updated] FirstLine Schools board meeting agenda
Review the updated meeting agenda here.
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Construction to proceed at Broadway campus
As almost an afterthought to a quick meeting of Audubon Charter School’s F.A.M.E. board this past Saturday, it was announced that the permit for the disputed Broadway contract had been picked up by a contractor and cleared for continuation. An old custodial house on Audubon’s 428 Broadway campus had been mostly dismantled, but a civil complaint by the Upper Audubon […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
The Lens talks with candidates from School Board districts 4 & 7
To inform voters and provide a broad platform for candidate debate, The Lens and our partners at WWNO-FM are presenting conversations with candidates in the Orleans Parish School Board races. Lens reporter Jessica Williams is hosting the events, which are airing on WWNO for the three Sunday nights before the election, at 9 p.m. The […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Rusnak gets contract extension, raise; school income in black
Ben Franklin’s CEO/Principal Timothy Rusnak received a two-year contract extension and a one-time, six percent raise at the Oct. 18 Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education board meeting. The extension keeps Rusnak as head of school through June 30, 2015. Assistant Principal Dan Casey introduced the board to Compass for School Leaders, a new program […]