On Recovery School Districts and Stronger State Education Agencies: Lessons From Louisiana

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

Abstract

The final presentation in this symposium will look across these three papers and draw from a four-year case study of the governance reforms in New Orleans to draw lessons from the New Orleans experience. Although the origins of this reform in Hurricane Katrina are unique to this context, the multi-sector approach has been viewed as a promising option for states and districts confronted with widespread school failure.

Drawing from interviews with state, district, and school leaders, we describe the lessons-learned in five areas: a) preconditions for progress, including the development of longitudinal data systems and accountability systems b) school closings and transformations c) the benefits of an RSD d) the limits of an RSD e) and the reform of state education agencies.

We will end the symposium presentations with an open discussion of three main questions:
1. Can the experiences from New Orleans inform reform initiatives in other jurisdictions?
2. If so, what implications should be drawn from the apparent imbalance in the interventions across the multiple oversight/governance agencies in New Orleans?
3. Does the imbalance in progress necessarily mean that the reform is flawed?

Author

• Paul Hill, University of Washington