The Illusion of School Choice in New Orleans

Last edited Sat Feb 28, 2015, 12:05 AM - Edit history (1)

The Illusion of School Choice
and the Failures of Education Reform in New Orleans

It's been almost a decade since Hurricane Katrina, but for parents, students and teachers in New Orleans, the fallout of that devastating storm continues today.

In Part 2 of the ongoing series "A Perfect Storm: The Takeover of New Orleans Public Schools," filmmaker Phoebe Ferguson chronicles how the city's struggling public schools were seized by the state following Katrina and handed over to private, charter school operators.

Now, in the nation's first all-charter school district, New Orleans parents and students must contend with the failures of this massive experiment in "school choice." Too many schools continue to struggle, deprived of the resources they need to give all kids the educational opportunities they deserve.

Between ballooning transportation costs and the too few seats available in top performing schools, the city's "choice" system has become little more than a way for policymakers to punt responsibility for improving schools to the invisible hand of a broken market rather than making the needed investments to put a high quality school in every neighborhood.

Videos
Part I
http://donate.schottfoundation.org/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fwww.otlcampaign.org%2fblog%2f2014%2f06%2f17%2fvideo-new-orleans-students-katrina-was-just-beginning&srcid=598&srctid=1&erid=1543005&trid=1b9e62da-2f92-4cd2-8e01-a56ff77d689c

Part II
http://donate.schottfoundation.org/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2fNOLAChoice&srcid=598&srctid=1&erid=1543005&trid=1b9e62da-2f92-4cd2-8e01-a56ff77d689c


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