An education revolution

Gloria Romero writes in the Orange County Register,

President Obama travels to New Orleans this week to commemorate Katrina’s 10th anniversary and the city’s rebuilding.

I wonder if Obama will notice what has happened to the New Orleans education system. Romero reports,

Following Katrina, the Legislature acted boldly, enacting a transformative measure to expeditiously transfer more than 100 chronically failing New Orleans schools to the RSD. State leaders, confronted by unprecedented natural disaster, chose to not only rebuild, but to boldly reimagine, New Orleans’ schools and acted with urgency.

City schools were closed, and all teachers removed from their posts. Rather than reopening the same failed schools, a comprehensive network of charter schools was authorized and opened. New teachers were hired.

This action led to the innovative “portfolio” system of schools found today in New Orleans, with 92 percent of students attending independent, charter schools.

RSD is Recovery School District.

Romero continues,

Undoubtedly, the RSD response to Katrina has become one of the most important education reformations in America. Academic outcomes for public school students in New Orleans have improved significantly in the 10 years since Katrina.

New Orleans in 2005 was the second-lowest-ranked district in one of the lowest-ranked U.S. states. Today, New Orleans students are closing the achievement gap with their peers, graduation rates have dramatically increased accompanied by major boosts in achievement tests, and students are going on to college. Whereas just slightly more than 30 percent of RSD schools were above failing status in 2008, more than 80 percent were in 2014 – a significant turnaround.

Read more here.