op-ed pieces in USA Today on New Orleans' schools

[Peter Campbell <campbellp@mail.montclair.edu>]

USA Today Editorial
3/5/06

Crisis drives reinvention of New Orleans' troubled schools

So far, recovery efforts in New Orleans have been rocky, at best. Relief organizations are running out of money, the levees aren't ready for the next hurricane season, and last week's Mardi Gras was muted.

One bright spot, however, has been the start-up of local schools. Before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was arguably the nation's worst urban school district. The hurricane, which left only one-sixth of the school system's buildings usable, gave the city and state a rare opportunity for a fresh start, one that could produce a model for other struggling systems across the USA.

Recognizing that New Orleans was incapable of running its schools alone, the state Legislature in November seized control of 102 of the district's schools. The governor and the state's schools chief appear to be executing a well-thought-out plan, opening only as many schools as needed and imposing quality controls.

Before Katrina hit Aug. 29, the New Orleans district served 56,000 students. Currently, it's handling nearly 10,000 students with a capacity for 2,000 more, according to the state.

Now comes a challenge that could thwart Louisiana's goal of building a model district. The United Teachers of New Orleans, which represents about 4,000 teachers who have been unable to return to work, has sued to force the city to open more schools. The union disputes the state's capacity numbers, claiming there are more students than space.

Union leaders also argue that by returning soon to a larger school district, the city will be able to lure more citizens with a sense of normalcy. That sounds logical, but here's what "normal" looked like in New Orleans' schools before Katrina:

•Only 44% of fourth-graders were proficient in reading and 26% were proficient in math during the 2004-05 school year. Among eighth-graders, only 26% were proficient in reading, 15% in math.

•Three of every four schools were declared "academically unacceptable" by the state in the 2003-04 school year.

•Deficits and allegations of corruption prompted the state to bring in the same New York turnaround firm hired to rescue schools in St. Louis. After reviewing the books in New Orleans, the takeover experts declared that New Orleans' situation was worse than the notoriously mismanaged school system in St. Louis.

Any rush to reopen schools risks a return to that past. Only by moving carefully can the district grow and adapt.

One symbol of the rebirth of the school system is the arrival this July of a KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) school, probably the nation's most successful charter school system. Other charter schools with successful track records have been asked to come to New Orleans.

These charter schools handle their own hiring, which means they would pick only the best of the former union members. School reformers say the union is pressing to open traditional schools quickly as a way of getting more of its members back on the payroll.

If state education leaders are allowed to lay out their plan deliberately, in years to come Los Angeles, Detroit and other cities with troubled schools will come to New Orleans to learn valuable lessons. Opening schools for the sake of opening schools, however, would only compromise that dream.

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Opposing View

Wrong time to experiment
By Brenda Mitchell

Even before we were Americans, people coming to this land dreamed of it as a "city upon a hill," a shining example of the best that a people and a society could be. New Orleans has a similar opportunity — though born from disaster — to be a city upon a hill that can be envied and emulated. Accomplishing this requires many things, including transforming its public education system in a smart way. Business as usual is not an option and will not help achieve these ends.

The New Orleans community currently is spread throughout the nation, with hundreds, even thousands, of families holding off on returning to their beloved city until the essential elements of daily life are in place, including viable housing and a neighborhood school for their children. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Will families return without access to schools, or will families return when school bells are ringing throughout the city? We strongly believe that the pulse of the city will return to a sense of normalcy when schools reopen and neighborhoods are repopulated with families.

The United Teachers of New Orleans has filed a lawsuit to open more public schools because demand for public schools is greater than the supply. But we are not asking for more of the same. We need tested, successful programs, not an agenda that turns New Orleans schools into a laboratory for educational experiments on students.

For years, the United Teachers of New Orleans has pleaded with city and state officials to provide students with reforms that have boosted student achievement in other urban areas. Duplicating these successes doesn't require a charter school, university or a private contractor.

What is needed is opening public schools immediately (several school buildings survived Hurricane Katrina mostly unscathed but remain closed) with programs that work: strong curriculum with tutoring and other assistance, smaller classes, fair and enforced discipline, sufficient textbooks and other resources, and quality, experienced teachers. The teachers' union should play an important role in bringing New Orleans and its neighborhood public schools back.

Give families what they want and need to come home to New Orleans. Give them a city upon the hill.

Dr. Brenda Mitchell is president of the United Teachers of New Orleans.