‘Tis the season for school closures
Four city schools are likely to close. Budget shortfall could top $49 million.
Author: Marta Jewson
- About 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.
Compare 2024 school performance scores for New Orleans charters
Though its score climbed a little, the NOLA Public Schools district received the same grade, a C, from the state of Louisiana for the third year in a row. The state’s A-F letter grades are particularly high-stakes for 12 charters, who could face closure at the end of the school year.
School Board seizes $20 million cash settlement, future funding, amid financial crisis
The Orleans Parish School Board settles a years-long lawsuit against the city, to provide financially strained schools with help that includes a swift, $20 million cash infusion and $70 million for education over 10 years.
‘Catastrophic’: Superintendent resigns amid district’s $36 million gaffe
School leaders worried that the budget gap may grow further, as officials tally final numbers.
‘We’re still here’
Planned Parenthood exhibit opens today, looks at 40-year, often embattled, presence in Louisiana
Louisiana AG sues feds to undo longstanding disability protections
Because of objections to a federal rule protecting gender dysphoria, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has joined a multi-state lawsuit seeking to invalidate Section 504, the disability law best known for providing support for public school students.
The Lens wins four first place awards from Press Club of New Orleans
The Lens took home top honors in the education reporting, continuing environmental reporting and government/political reporting categories.
Pregnant and hemorrhaging, without a key solution within reach
Lawmakers passed a law designed to limit reproductive rights in Louisiana. But it may also limit patients’ chances of surviving common life events like miscarriages and births.
The heartbreaking but necessary work of covering school closures
Pencils, Laptops, and Guaranteed Income
Across the nation, there’s been an increase in programs looking at ways to help lift up young people – and move them from poverty into more secure futures. Administrators at Rooted School saw fewer absences, a jump in reading scores, and a boost in independence for students who received $50 weekly stipends.
