Reform Movement
How will the present education reform movement in New Orleans close this achievement gap?
Exceptional teachers and leaders, working in mission-driven schools and supported by reform-minded political leaders are producing gap-closing results in New Orleans. All three of the areas noted in the chart above are needed:
- With reform-driven politics, alternative route human capital pipelines remain open, great school expansion accelerates, and failing school closure is pursued.
- With exceptional human capital, great schools can expand to serve more students.
- With high-performing schools, excellent human capital is effectively harnessed in thriving school environments.
No other city in the nation has a higher quality human capital pipeline, a greater concentration of mission-driven charter schools, or a more reform-driven political environment. To the right is a chart that shows the progress that the new education system in New Orleans has made since 2005 when the reforms above were put into place. This graph shows the increase in schools that are no longer academically unacceptable in New Orleans.
ReNEW’s part in this reform movement
ReNEW is a new Charter Management Organization(CMO) formed in a collaborative effort with the Recovery School District and New Schools for New Orleans. Many leaders in New Orleans agree that taking advantage of the charter policies in all schools is the best scenario for our city. ReNEW is one of several CMOs that will help make this happen. By removing the lowest performing schools from the system, converting them to charter and taking advantage of the reform movement in New Orleans mentioned above, we will have a system in three to five years where there are no academically unacceptable schools.
