Condemned in New Orleans
I'm writing from New Orleans. This week I left the Dad and the Kid behind with the Grandparents, and spent the long weekend working on the enormous Habitat for Humanity Musicians' Village project that is being built on several acres of land that once belonged to the New Orleans Public Schools. One of the would be homeowners was building up sweat equity with us today as we put trim around door frames. He said that this land -- where upwards of 75 houses will be built in the next two years -- had once been the football field of his high school, and that the building had been condemned more than a decade ago. Condemned. Luckily, this man somehow went on to become a teacher and a coach. Football, which seems to be the equivalent to the Red Sox here in Louisiana -- was his saving grace.
Much as we in Boston might whine about the perceived decline of the Boston Public Schools over the last 30 years, we are not rebuilding in the face of an atrocious public school system begat by public indifference and corruption and then a major disaster. People do care in Boston and even at its worst, our schools were never the worst city system in the country (and now have been recognized as the most improved). Our problem is more one of leftover anger and burnout and demographic change than actual malfeasance or corruption (as far as I know). I learned on our bus tour that private and parochial schools had already been huge in New Orleans, and that charter schools had overtaken the public school system as the state's administrators of choice in the State's post-Katrina world. (During our tour of the city by local residents, we were told that only a few schools remain administered by the New Orleans Public Schools.)
"In November, the Legislature, led by the Governor and Louisiana Education Superintendent Cecil Picard had passed legislation that gave the state the authority to take over 103 of our Orleans Parish schools. The School Board retained 17 of the high performing schools. Some opposed this move and protested it vigorously, especially when it forced the Orleans Parish School Board to lay off all but a handful of our former employees, including many devoted teachers...We intend to provide a Unified School System that will provide high quality education for the first time in many years to all students."
-"A Year in Review" letter by Phyllis Landrieu, President, Orleans Parish School Board, 8/29/06
Fewer than 50% of pre-Katrina residents of New Orleans have returned a year later, causing unimaginable changes to the school system. Even when they return, so much has changed that parents often don't know where to send their kids. Signs all over town -- even in neighborhoods that still have no electricity -- have hotline numbers to find out where to vote and where to send your kids to school. But there's still a need for marketing. Earlier this year one enterprising charter school principal reportedly threw out Mardi Gras beads with the school's contact info imprinted on them. There are now 6 public schools and 12 charter schools. I cannot fathom a public education system where there are more charters than public schools. Was it really that bad? Was it politics? Surely some of each.
Good liberal folks are supposed to back public education 100%. But if the public schools will not and cannot educate children well enough for all of them to even graduate, we have to insist upon change on behalf of our children. Kids can't vote, but families will vote with their feet. Over the last 15 years, I have noticed a lot of good liberal folks in Boston signing up for METCO, charter schools, and private schools when it comes to their kids.
I never want to see the day when the kids in my neighborhood are sent to a school that's condemned. Because we all know that it wasn't just the building that was condemned, but the kids as well. I can't say it was the teachers or the adminstrators who condemned them either; it was everyone who gave up. Katrina was just the wake up call that nobody could go back to the way it was. And the spirit I see here makes it clear that nobody wants to.
They are not rebuilding, they are building something newer and better -- from homes to schools. Let's hope it works. Let's help them get there. It's a city worth saving for the next generation. - The Mom
Much as we in Boston might whine about the perceived decline of the Boston Public Schools over the last 30 years, we are not rebuilding in the face of an atrocious public school system begat by public indifference and corruption and then a major disaster. People do care in Boston and even at its worst, our schools were never the worst city system in the country (and now have been recognized as the most improved). Our problem is more one of leftover anger and burnout and demographic change than actual malfeasance or corruption (as far as I know). I learned on our bus tour that private and parochial schools had already been huge in New Orleans, and that charter schools had overtaken the public school system as the state's administrators of choice in the State's post-Katrina world. (During our tour of the city by local residents, we were told that only a few schools remain administered by the New Orleans Public Schools.)
"In November, the Legislature, led by the Governor and Louisiana Education Superintendent Cecil Picard had passed legislation that gave the state the authority to take over 103 of our Orleans Parish schools. The School Board retained 17 of the high performing schools. Some opposed this move and protested it vigorously, especially when it forced the Orleans Parish School Board to lay off all but a handful of our former employees, including many devoted teachers...We intend to provide a Unified School System that will provide high quality education for the first time in many years to all students."
-"A Year in Review" letter by Phyllis Landrieu, President, Orleans Parish School Board, 8/29/06
Fewer than 50% of pre-Katrina residents of New Orleans have returned a year later, causing unimaginable changes to the school system. Even when they return, so much has changed that parents often don't know where to send their kids. Signs all over town -- even in neighborhoods that still have no electricity -- have hotline numbers to find out where to vote and where to send your kids to school. But there's still a need for marketing. Earlier this year one enterprising charter school principal reportedly threw out Mardi Gras beads with the school's contact info imprinted on them. There are now 6 public schools and 12 charter schools. I cannot fathom a public education system where there are more charters than public schools. Was it really that bad? Was it politics? Surely some of each.
Good liberal folks are supposed to back public education 100%. But if the public schools will not and cannot educate children well enough for all of them to even graduate, we have to insist upon change on behalf of our children. Kids can't vote, but families will vote with their feet. Over the last 15 years, I have noticed a lot of good liberal folks in Boston signing up for METCO, charter schools, and private schools when it comes to their kids.
I never want to see the day when the kids in my neighborhood are sent to a school that's condemned. Because we all know that it wasn't just the building that was condemned, but the kids as well. I can't say it was the teachers or the adminstrators who condemned them either; it was everyone who gave up. Katrina was just the wake up call that nobody could go back to the way it was. And the spirit I see here makes it clear that nobody wants to.
They are not rebuilding, they are building something newer and better -- from homes to schools. Let's hope it works. Let's help them get there. It's a city worth saving for the next generation. - The Mom
posted by Boston Parents at 10:28 PM
1 Comments:
and that is as real as it gets. that's a very profound statement with the kids being condemned along with the building. hits the nail on the head with eloquent force.
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