Charter boards overseeing 17 schools must decide by the end of the year if they want to move from the Recovery School District to the Orleans Parish School Board. But there are still reasons for schools to stay put, such as funding issues and concerns about the management and leadership of the local school system.
Author Archives: Jessica Williams
Jessica Williams stays on top of the city's loosely organized collection of public schools, with a special emphasis on charter schools. In 2011 she was recognized by the Press Club of New Orleans for her reporting on charter school transparency and governance. In 2012, she was part of a team that received a National Edward R. Murrow Award for their work following a New Orleans family's recovery after Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Edna Karr Secondary School in Algiers, and she obtained her bachelor
Posted inSchools
Live blog: Orleans Parish School Board seeks public input on next superintendent
The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Again, 911 call center says operators are too busy answering NOPD detail calls
Also during budget hearings, council questions management of new Crescent Park.
Posted inSchools
New Orleans schools have comparatively high rate of testing irregularities on standardized tests
Looked at from several different angles, New Orleans public schools have a comparatively high percentage of possible cheating on standardized tests, The Lens has found after reviewing the most recent state data available. Testing experts offered a broadly accepted rationale: cheating tends to increase when standardized tests are used for rewards and punishments of schools, teachers or students. For a variety of reasons, New Orleans schools have more riding on the outcome of test scores than public schools elsewhere in the state.
Posted inSchools
How The Lens reported on standardized testing problems
To report our second story into standardized testing problems, The Lens cross-referenced five data sets from the Louisiana Department of Education: The 2011 state test security report, which the Department of Education compiled for the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. School district investigations into testing irregularities for 2011, which were submitted to the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Police chief, council differ on raises, though talk is just hypothetical
Also, City Council members push to have 311 become more responsive to citizen complaints.
Posted inSchools
Board retracts cheating allegations against Moton school
Last year, the Orleans Parish School Board claimed that students at Robert Russa Moton Charter School got an advance look at LEAP test questions. After reviewing its own investigation, the board now says that’s not the case.
Posted inCharter Schools
Crescent City officials frustrated by building issues
School officials are aren’t sure which contractor is responsible when something breaks.
Posted inSchools
Contrary to critics’ claims, administrative staffing at OPSB has dropped along with enrollment
Critics of the Orleans Parish School Board say the central office is still bloated. But administrative staffing has dropped 90 percent compared to an 81 percent drop in enrollment. OPSB officials say they also have to provide services for private and charter schools.
Posted inSchools
Documents indicate that Friends of King CEO didn’t sign contracts with family members
Doris Roché-Hicks apparently didn’t sign contracts with her family members, which would clear her from one set of legal concerns about their employment. But there are discrepancies between copies and originals of the same documents, and charter officials won’t discuss why they’re different.