History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Students say New Orleans schools are no education "miracle"
- 09-08-2011
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By Liz Dwyer/Good
Last year Education Secretary Arne Duncan infamously quipped that Hurricane Katrina was "the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans" because it swept away the city's dysfunctional school system. Indeed, in the six years since the levees broke, the reform efforts in New Orleans schools have been held up nationally as an education "miracle." But according to a report (PDF) released today that surveyed students at six New Orleans high schools, it's far too soon to declare "mission accomplished." The survey, conducted over 18 months by the city's Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association, collected data from 425 students at six schools, making it the most extensive youth-led, student-centered study since Hurricane Katrina. Through surveys, focus groups and individual interviews, students rated their schools on 12 criteria "that local students identified as integral to a quality education—teaching, student support services, physical environment, textbooks, school food, family inclusion, rigor and college readiness, English as a second language, school fees, access to school options, transportation, and safety and bullying." (more...)
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