That Which Cannot Be Washed Away: Critical Systematic Review of New Orleans Public Education Post-Katrina

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Synthesizing Research on Critical Issues in Education and Discussing Best Practices for Doing So (Table 31)

Abstract

This systematic review employs a critical lens to examine the shift in New Orleans public education to a wholly charter system after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in 2005. Utilizing this methodology, a dataset (n = 61) was formed of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters to provide a fuller picture of how the current educational landscape came to exist. This review’s findings imply that although public school student performance in New Orleans has improved since 2005, a lack of community, parent, and student engagement and significant power imbalances have created barriers that hinder social and personal successes. Thus, this work calls for more community-centered policy and research that embraces public opinion to determine the next steps for the city.

Author

• Tia R. Williams, Vanderbilt University