Report Examines New Orleans’ Schools Progress, Problems

According to the Daily Comet, on Tuesday Tulane University's Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives released its annual report on public education in New Orleans. The report credits the Louisiana Recovery School District (RSD) with taking on a much needed effort to transform the city’s schools by turning them over to public charter school operators or closing them. The RSD oversees 66 New Orleans schools, including 50 public charter schools. According to the report, the RSD has provided improved information and access to parents by opening resource centers and creating a new centralized enrollment system with a single application. However, problems remain, including schools’ uneven progress, a lack of a single district-level data-collection resource and tight budgets. "While it is clear that more work must be done to ensure all students in New Orleans have access to a quality public school, the system of public schools in New Orleans is moving in a positive direction," the report concluded.

Source: Daily Comet

Op-Ed: New Jersey Has No Reason Not to Give Online Charter Schools a Shot

In a Star-Ledger op-ed, Michael Horn and Charity Eyre of the Innosight Institute argue against a bill in the New Jersey Assembly which would set a 12-month moratorium on the approval of virtual public charter schools. Full-time virtual schools have been around for more than a decade; more than 30 states allow them. “Online learning is an innovation that has the potential to transform the current education system…into a student-centric one that can be personalized for different students’ learning needs at different times in an affordable fashion.” Instead of a moratorium, Horn and Eyre recommend grading virtual public charter schools along student-growth models. “If a virtual school doesn’t achieve good results, the state should shut it down, just as it should shut down any poorly performing school…We must work to find the right opportunities for all kinds of learners from all circumstances. Thwarting innovation because of unreasoned fears doesn’t accomplish that.”

Source: Star-Ledger

Op-Ed: Cami Anderson Opens Door for Newark Charter Schools

In a Star-Ledger op-ed, Tom Moran praises Newark schools Superintendent Cami Anderson for overruling the city’s advisory school board when it voted to block five public charter schools from using empty space in district buildings. Board President Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson argued that “resources are not being put into the public schools.” Moran points out that Newark spends about $22,500 per district student, higher than the state average of $17,500; public charter school students get much less in operating funds and no capital funds. “Never mind that 8,000 kids are enrolled in charters, and an even larger number are on waiting lists,” Moran writes. “Leave aside that charters are public schools. What’s really offensive about this reasoning is that it skips past the question of what is best for the families in Newark who are voting with their feet in droves as they fight for a spot in the best charter schools.” Thanks to Anderson, “hundreds of kids who are stuck on waiting lists at top charter schools like North Star and Team Academy will have a chance to enroll.”

Source: Star-Ledger

Op-ed: Closure of Atlanta Charter School ‘Just Plain Unfair’

In an East Atlanta Patch op-ed, Georgia Charter Schools Association Chief Executive Officer Tony Roberts protests the closing of Tech High School, Atlanta’s only public charter high school offering a science, technology, engineering and math focus. Tech High boasts a 93 percent graduation and a 78 percent college acceptance rate; it won the Governor’s Academic Gold award for gains on state tests. Despite its success, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) cut $360,000 from the school’s operating budget in order to shore up the district’s pension fund, which is overextended by $39 million.“These cuts made the school financially unsustainable, setting its per- pupil funding $3,600 lower than other APS high schools,” Roberts explains; to boot, charter school employees do not benefit from the pension fund. “Charter schools across Atlanta are reeling from the pension assessment. Others could close…Tech High’s students and teachers worked hard for eight years and have the results to prove it. They don’t deserve this. Shouldn’t the students be put first in every situation — especially this one?”

Source: East Atlanta Patch