The New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy could not reach a quorum at its monthly meeting Thursday night. Heavy traffic over the Crescent City Connection prevented two board members from reaching the school’s west bank campus. Members Terry Ebbert, Jack Bergman, Marcellus Grace and W. David Whiddon were present, two shy of a quorum. As […]
Author Archives: Marta Jewson
Marta Jewson covers education in New Orleans for The Lens. She began her reporting career covering charter schools for The Lens and helped found the hyperlocal news site Mid-City Messenger. Jewson returned to New Orleans in the fall of 2014 after covering education for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with majors in journalism and social welfare and a concentration in educational policy studies.
Jewson has covered New Orleans schools for 15 years through the nation's largest education reform experiment. She was a founding member of the outlet's Charter School Reporting Corps and was instrumental in holding schools accountable to sunshine laws during the rapid expansion of charter schools in the city.
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Pride receives clean audit; full-time counselor heightens morale
Pride College Preparatory Academy’s board of directors met Tuesday night and received a clean audit. The school received an unqualified opinion, a clean audit, from Carr, Riggs & Ingram. Michael Richard, school leader, said Pride has begun to use Louisiana State University for special education evaluations. He said next year they would partner with LSU […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board revises budget, struggles with meeting laws
Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans board of directors struggled to comply with state open records and meetings laws at its meeting Monday night, as it reduced the school’s operating budget from $3.1 million to $2.8 million. Over 100 parents and teachers were in attendance at the school’s cafeteria. Parents learned about a budget shortfall […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Enrollment projected to climb next year; priority zip codes could cut bus costs
Encore Academy’s board of directors held a retreat Saturday, to focus on strategic planning and board development. School leader Terri Smith discussed plans for the 2013-2014 school year. Currently at 206 students, she projects next year’s enrollment to be 295. Smith said next years student population would require 14 classrooms, but she believes they could stay […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board shuts public out of another meeting
The Warren Easton board of directors appears to have violated public meetings law at its October meeting, again revealing its ignorance of when it can and can’t exclude the public from its deliberations. This is the board’s fourth apparent violation of public meetings laws in a year. In this case, a lawyer told The Lens […]
Posted inSchools
Warren Easton board shuts public out of another meeting
The Warren Easton board of directors appears to have violated public meetings law at its October meeting, again revealing its ignorance of when it can and can’t exclude the public from its deliberations. This is the board’s fourth apparent violation of public meetings laws in a year. In this case, a lawyer told The Lens […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board approves application for federal funds to take charge of a second school
At an eleventh-hour meeting Sunday night in a coffee shop, Einstein’s board of directors approved a federal i3 grant application. Board members met at CC’s Coffee House on Esplanade Avenue to review the 28-page application, due the next day. Principal Shawn Toranto presented board members with the draft. She said she and her team had […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board looks for new members, will discuss i3 grant app on Sunday
Einstein Charter School’s board of directors plan to meet again within the week to discuss the i3 grant. The board is applying for an i3 grant, which could give them the ability to take over a failing school next year. The grant is due Nov. 5. Board President Ryan Bennett appointed Kathy Litchfield to the […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Clean audit for school finances, no discussion of performance scores
Members of Ben Mays Preparatory School board of directors received a clean audit at their Oct. 29 meeting. Don Wheat, a certified public accountant from Carr, Riggs & Ingram firm, presented a brief overview of the school’s financial audit. Wheat said the school received an unqualified opinion, which is a positive accounting assessment of the […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board votes to form non-profit to collect anonymous donations
Warren Easton’s board of directors voted to form an additional nonprofit in order to collect anonymous donations for the existing Warren Easton Charter Foundation. “There are many people who like to give, but don’t like to make it public,” said board president David Garland. The board held an executive session at its meeting Oct. 17 […]