Lifting All Boats With a Multisector Approach: Lessons From New Orleans

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

Six years ago after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, state and local leaders decided to pursue a multi-sector strategy to rebuild the districts’ schools. New Orleans’ students now attend traditional district run schools or charter schools overseen by three different agencies. The strategies used in the different sectors were expected to be different but policymakers hoped that competition, accountability, and autonomy would raise achievement across the district. Today, leaders in other states are turning to New Orleans for guidance in their own improvement initiatives. In this session we describe the performance trends and school improvement initiatives across the various school sectors in New Orleans schools and highlight the lessons that can be taken from multi-sector approach.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Districts in Research & Reform

Chair

• Kara S. Finnigan, University of Rochester

Papers

• The Recovery Trends in New Orleans - Betheny Gross, University of Washington

• Turning Around Schools in New Orleans: Two Sectors, Two Directions - Robin Lake, Center on Reinventing Public Education

• What’s in a Design? A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of New Orleans High School Turnarounds - Andrew McEachin, North Carolina State University; Dominic J. Brewer, University of Southern California

• On Recovery School Districts and Stronger State Education Agencies: Lessons From Louisiana - Paul Hill, University of Washington

Discussant

• Elliot H. Weinbaum, U.S. Department of Education