Andrew H. Wilson Charter School’s contract with Edison Learning Systems has been extended only to the end of the current school year, leaving open the possibility that at their next meeting board members will vote to permanently sever the five-year relationship with the for-profit service provider. The half-year extension of a modified contract with Edison was […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
New partnership to provide after-school tutoring for fourth-graders
Akili Academy has secured funding for a partnership with New Orleans Outreach, a local non-profit that provides after-school tutoring and mentoring. The development was hailed at the monthly meeting of school’s board of directors, Nov. 30, in the administration annex. The program will involve an initial 10 to 15 fourth-graders who will meet after school […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Grants sought until four-year enrollment eases budget crunch; influx of student transfers noted
Directors of the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy gathered briefly on Nov. 29 for a monthly meeting focused mainly on funding and the school’s growing appeal. With a ninth-grade enrolled and plans afoot to add a grade a year until the academy is a four-year high school, NOMMA faces budget challenges. State and local […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Parking lots? An aquarium? Enviro groups question state bids for spending BP bucks
By Benjamin Leger, The Lens contributing writer The $1 billion fund set up by BP is supposed to pay for restoration of natural resources damaged by last year’s Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history. But a coalition has come forward with a report concerned that without greater […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board meeting cancelled
This afternoon Lagniappe Academies posted a notice on their website that stated: “Due to a medical emergency, this meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 14.”
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
RSD offers assistance for student transfers as board relinquishes charter
Sojourner Truth Academy will close after the current school year due to low academic performance, the school’s board said during its monthly meeting, Nov. 29. Addressing a packed house that included teachers, students, parents and media, Board President Robert Burvant said a representative from the Recovery School District informed the board that it will recommend […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
New campus slated for completion by June 2014, OPSB property chair tells board
The board of Lake Forest Elementary Charter School began its monthly meeting on Nov. 29 with a detailed question and answer session on construction of a new campus. Ira Thomas, chairman of the Orleans Parish School Board’s property committee, fielded questions about the building design process and clarified rumors surrounding construction of the new site. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Fresh testing shows persistent formaldehyde contamination in region's FEMA trailers
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | More than six years after FEMA provided displaced Hurricane Katrina victims with trailers that were later revealed to be toxic, early tests suggest that dangerously high levels of formaldehyde linger in the more than 130,000 units still in use. An air quality test done last month in […]
Posted inSchools
Sagging grades likely to shutter Sojourner Truth Academy
School officials said Tuesday night that they’re preparing to dissolve the three-year-old charter campus, even before state educators reveal recommendations on whether it deserves an extension.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Coalition urges mayor to 'man up' and fulfill promises on jail size and budget reforms
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | A reform coalition, calling for a smaller, more accountably budgeted jail, dropped off two copies of a 2,200-signature petition at City Hall this afternoon, having grown impatient with Mayor Mitch Landrieu for failing to “man up” on the issue. “I think the mayor just needs to step […]