BESE Approves Pastorek’s Plan for RSD Schools

The Cowen Institute's policy team frames the issues impeding the success of the public education in New Orleans and develops and advances research-based policy and legislative solutions. We continuously inform leaders in local, state, and federal government of the issues relevant to the city’s system of public schools. Our team actively works with policymakers, administrators, and community leaders to advance solutions through advocacy efforts. This role is critical given the decentralized approach to operating schools in the city. Our efforts ensure the success of every public school in the city by advocating for adequate and equitable funding, safe facilities, an effective governance model, and strong accountability of schools.

Last week the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) met to consider several significant matters. Topping the news is that the board approved State Superintendent Paul Pastorek's recommendation for a policy regarding the transfer of RSD schools back to their local districts, including New Orleans. Superintendent Pastorek presented the plan, incorporating revisions made to it since its initial release in September, at a lengthy BESE RSD Committee meeting on Wednesday. There was vigorous comment and debate both from committee members and the public, similar to that at other recent meetings on the issue. Representatives of the Orleans Parish School Board were among those speaking out against the plan, and Senator Karen Carter Peterson raised questions about the notion of a new board in Orleans Parish, as mentioned in Pastorek’s plan. Several citizens groups also spoke both in support of and opposition to the plan. Ultimately the committee approved the plan on a 5-2 vote, with members voting as follows:

Yes: Chas Roemer, Jim Garvey, Connie Bradford, Glenny Lee Buquet, Penny Dastugue
No: Louella Givens and Dale Bayard
Abstaining: Walter Lee

At the full BESE meeting on Thursday, RSD Committee chairman Chas Roemer commented briefly on Wednesday’s meeting and the community debate preceding it, stating his appreciation for the passion and engagement on this issue as everyone strives to come to the best solution for Louisiana students, but also asking that audience members be more respectful to each other in the future. The board then accepted the committee’s recommendation to adopt the plan, with members Givens, Bayard, and Lee restating their positions for the record. For more coverage, see the following: Times-Picayune, WWL , Associated Press.

The final version of Superintendent Pastorek’s plan included several positive changes made since the initial version was released in September. One, accountability for the RSD was increased, with the addition of a chance for both charter operators and local school districts to apply to run failing schools if the RSD cannot improve them. If a failing school does stay in the RSD after its initial five year placement, the RSD must present a plan to BESE to improve the school. Also, in the case of an eligible non-failing charter school choosing to leave the RSD, the revised plan says that school shall enter into a new charter with the district it transfers to, instead of remaining in a charter with BESE and just entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the district it transfers to, as in the original plan. Finally, the revised plan addresses concerns about the indefinite duration of RSD placements by clarifying the timeline for schools after their initial five year RSD term. It formalizes successive five-year periods, at the end of which each RSD school must be re-evaluated by BESE. The Cowen Institute supports the plan and is pleased that Superintendent Pastorek addressed these issues and improved the plan. For more information, see the following links:

BESE Approves Eleven New Charter School Applications

At its meeting last week BESE also approved eleven new charter school applications - seven Type 5s and four Type 2s - out of 39 total applications submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education. The approved Type 5 applicants listed below are now slated to operate RSD schools in New Orleans; which applicant will run which school will be determined later.

• Fannie C. Williams Charter School - Community Leaders Advocating Student Success, Orleans Parish
• Crescent City School - Crescent City Schools, Orleans Parish
• The NET Charter High School - Educators for Quality Alternatives, Orleans Parish
• Collegiate Academy Charter School - New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy, Orleans Parish
• ReNEW K-8 Charter School ("ReNEW Three") - ReNew-Reinventing Education, Inc., Orleans Parish
• ReNEW Alternative High School 1 - ReNEW-Reinventing Education Inc., Orleans Parish
• ReNEW Alternative High School 2 - ReNEW-Reinventing Education Inc., Orleans Parish

At Wednesday's BESE RSD Committee meeting, the committee had approved these seven Type 5 charter applications and an additional one, an application to run Craig Elementary by The Friends of King School, the group that currently runs Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School in New Orleans. The full board then denied the Friends of King application on Thursday, saying that BESE has to follow a consistent process. The Friends of King application was one that the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), which reviews and makes a recommendation on each application submitted to BESE, had recommended against approving, but the RSD Committee approved it anyway upon Superintendent Pastorek recommendation. Subsequently other denied applicants disputed the fairness of the application process and asked for time to improve their applications and be reconsidered. Thursday, the full board decided that each application in this round should be treated the same, and that BESE would adhere to the NACSA recommendation for each. For more on this from the Times-Picayune, click here.

Among the four Type 2 charter school applications BESE approved, two were for schools in New Orleans. While the two New Orleans applicants chose to apply directly to BESE for charters, a pending court case may require them to reapply to the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), which has sued the state to no longer be labeled “in crisis” and thus able to consider charter applications for new schools. The four approved Type 2 applicants are:

• Louisiana Virtual Academy - Community School of Apprenticeship and Learning, Inc., Orleans Parish
• Lycee Francois de la Nouvelle Orleans, LFNO, Inc., Orleans Parish
• Louisiana Connections Academy - Friends of Louisiana Connections, East Baton Rouge Parish
• Lake Charles Charter Academy - Lake Charles Charter Academy Foundation Inc., Calcasieu Parish

For more on the charter application approvals, click here for a Louisiana Department of Education press release. For the Times-Picayune’s coverage, click here.

BESE Implements Letter Grades for Measuring School Performance

In the 2010 legislative session, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 718, which provided for BESE to assign letter grades to schools and school districts to rate their performance. Last week BESE set the standards for each letter grade, which will replace the star system previously used. For the current school year, the grades and their corresponding School Performance Scores will be as follows:

Schools that meet their growth target will receive a “+” in addition to their letter grade, while schools that decline in SPS will receive a “-.” Also, the line between “D” and “F” will be increased to 75 for the 2011-2012 school year to conform with an earlier BESE decision to raise the Academically Unacceptable standard up to 75 for that year. For an article in The Advocate on the new system, click here.

The State of Public Education in New Orleans: School Facilities

The Cowen Institute at Tulane University is pleased to release its latest publication, The State of Public Education in New Orleans: School Facilities. This report is part of our State of Public Education in New Orleans series, which aims to provide journalists, policymakers, community leaders, and the public with information, context, and thoughtful analyses about specific topics related to K-12 education in New Orleans.

In this publication, the Cowen Institute provides details and highlights issues related to the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish, a $2 billion blueprint to build and renovate schools across the city. In addition, we consider the road ahead, including potential speed bumps, with school building assignments, funding for facility maintenance, and cost estimate adjustments. Finally, we present our recommendations for policies and practices to ensure that every child in New Orleans attends school in a state-of-the-art facility.

NOLA by the Numbers: School Enrollment & Demographics

The Cowen Institute at Tulane University is pleased to release its latest briefing, NOLA by the Numbers: School Enrollment & Demographics. The NOLA by the Numbers series, launched in October 2010, aims to provide journalists, policymakers, community leaders, and the public with a timely and comprehensive analysis of state-released data on public schools in New Orleans.

Each school year, the Louisiana Department of Education conducts two student enrollment counts: on October 1st and February 1st. These counts also document the race, sex, grade level, and free and reduced-price lunch eligibility status of students. The enrollment counts are particularly important because they are used to determine the amount of funding schools and districts receive from the state. The October 2010 enrollment count shows that public schools in New Orleans are generally continuing along in their post-Katrina trajectory.

Fast Facts:
• 39,877 students are enrolled in public schools in New Orleans, an increase of 5% from last year.
• 92 public schools are currently open in the city.
• 71% of students in public schools attend charter schools, more than any other city or district in the nation.
• 84% of students in public schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, compared to the state average of 66%.
• 89% of students in public schools are African-American, while 6% are white and 6% are another race or ethnicity.

Click here to download NOLA by the Numbers: School Enrollment & Demographics.

Legislative Committee Denies Jindal Plan to Divert Edujobs Funding

Last month we reported that Governor Jindal planned to divert a portion of federal funding for teacher jobs to fill budget holes. The plan still had to be approved by the legislature, and in late November the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget voted 23-9 to reject that plan and direct the funding to districts as originally intended. Of the $147 million available to Louisiana under the federal Education Jobs Fund, $68 million will go to higher education and $79 million will go to K-12 school districts to support keeping or creating jobs. For a Times-Picayune article on the issue, click here.

The New Teacher Project Analyzes Race to the Top Scoring

The federal Race to the Top grant program has been back in the news lately. First, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) recently issued a report analyzing the scoring in round two of the competition. It offers criticism of what it sees as inconsistency and subjectivity in the scoring that led to results that in some cases were unpredictable, including instances where some losing applications were arguably stronger than some winning applications. The report cited Louisiana in particular as suffering from “difficulties in the scoring process.” TNTP reiterated its support of Race to the Top, however, and said that the goal of their report is to spark changes in the process that will help ensure the program's credibility and success going forward. The TNTP report comes shortly after the Department of Education announced a similar review of its own. To see the full TNTP report, click here, and for an Education Week post on the report, click here.

Meanwhile, debate continues in Washington over extending Race to the Top for another year. The Obama Administration and members of Congress are wrangling over how much funding to give the program, and what, if any, changes to make. Numbers discussed have ranged from $300 million to $1.35 billion, and it’s even possible that the program will get zero funding. It won’t be clear for several days, however, what the ultimate amount is and what form the legislation takes. For more information, see the following articles from Education Week:
White House Pushes for Race to Top 2.0 in Budget Talks
House Dems Include Money for Race to the Top 2.0 in Giant Spending Bill

Michelle Rhee Starts Education Reform Advocacy Group

Former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has started a new group, StudentsFirst, to advocate for education reform across the country. The organization will support “reform-minded” officials and candidates, and will attempt to be a counterweight to existing organizations that sometimes stand in the way of reform, in Rhee’s view. For more on this story, click here for a Washington Post article, and click here for an interesting take in The New Republic.

Monday, December 13, 2010

BESE Approves Pastorek’s Plan for RSD Schools