The Re-Education of New Orleans
When the levees broke 10 years ago鈥攄rowning New Orleans in the disastrous wake of Hurricane Katrina鈥攖he ruptures set off a cascade of profound changes to public schooling that have never before been seen in a single American city.
As the floodwaters receded, leaving a scattered population preoccupied with survival, the state of Louisiana took over most of the city鈥檚 schools, many of which had been chronically failing for years.
All the teachers were fired. And a new class of educators moved in, kicking off the rapid and steady march to what exists now: A city with no neighborhood schools. A city of charters. A city of sometimes bewildering school choice.
Believers in the new way say it鈥檚 for the best: Graduation rates have ticked up. More kids are going to college. And achievement on state tests has grown. But, skeptics counter, there are casualties of such progress: School closures that leave families stranded. Languishing special education students. And a growing class of young black men who never finish school and don鈥檛 have jobs.
A decade after this radical reshaping of public education鈥攂illed by its proponents as the best hope for saving a singular American city from its near-death experience鈥攖here are fundamental questions still in search of answers.
Has the post-Katrina K-12 system delivered on its promise of high-quality schools for all of New Orleans鈥� children, the vast majority of them poor and black? And how do we judge that?
Announcement
We are proud to announce that 鈥淭he Re-Education of New Orleans,鈥� won the Society of Professional Journalists鈥� Sigma Delta Chi Award for non-deadline reporting by a non-daily publication.
