Advocates of four-day school weeks say the schedule can save money and attract teachers. Critics worry about an extra day of childcare for working parents.
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 inSchools
Ongoing asbestos cleanup forces two schools to spend another year in temporary campuses
One charter group alleges the state-run Recovery School District and its contractor withheld a report detailing asbestos problems.
Posted inSchools
Judge’s order allows Sophie B. Wright students to walk at graduation, but it may have come too late
The order came down 15 minutes before graduation was set to begin, according to a civil rights attorney who represented six students.
Posted inInside the News Room
Week in Review: Entergy New Orleans could face $2 million fine over frequent outages
Entergy New Orleans could face $2 million fine over frequent outages The New Orleans City Council’s utility advisers are recommending a $1.5 million to $2 million fine against Entergy New Orleans for failing to adequately maintain the city’s aging electrical distribution system — the poles and wires that run down New Orleans streets to connect […]
Posted inSchools
New Beginnings schools CEO resigns amid grade-changing investigation
CEO Michelle Blouin-Williams has been on paid leave since an investigation began April 1. She is also being investigated for allegedly falsifying public records.
Posted inSchools
Lead-removal filter project drags on as school district deals with water pressure
More than half of schools with water filters have at least some that are not working. The district has known about low water pressure problems since September.
Posted inInside the News Room
Week in Review: Cantrell unrepentant over unannounced traffic camera changes
Cantrell unrepentant over unannounced traffic camera changes New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell and her top deputy, Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño, went before the City Council’s budget committee on Monday morning to defend the administration’s decision not to inform the public that it was lowering speed thresholds for traffic camera tickets. Cantrell said she made […]
Posted inSchools
OneApp enrollment lottery results bring mixed emotions
The main-round results were released Wednesday, parents must register with the school or enter the second round
Posted inSchools
ReNEW charter network relocating McNair students, closing campus this summer
The charter network operates an early childhood center and a therapeutic day program at the Carrollton Avenue school.
Posted inInside the News Room
Week in Review: Parents anxiously await OneApp results
Class Dismissed: OneApp Parents anxiously await New Orleans’ enrollment lottery results from the time they submit applications in late February to mid-April, when the mysterious algorithm that controls every child’s school placement spits out answers. “It doesn’t allow for hopes to be brought about in a timely way,” parent Alex Lafargue said. His son attends […]