Who’s in Charge, What Works & What’s Next? Defining the Mandate!Over the course of four meetings, OPEN engaged over 170 individuals in a city-wide discussion around the future of governance of New Orleans public schools. Almost one-third of participants attended more than one meeting and a handful of individuals attended every single meeting. Demographically, the participants were mostly female averaging 55% of the room and over 60% African-American, 27% White and 8% mixed ethnicity. The representation from neighborhoods around was continuously extensive with the majority of attendees from Mid-City, Uptown, Gentilly and Central City. The content for the Governance Series covered topics that were significant to the educational reform efforts currently taking place in New Orleans. |
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The First Session |
The first session was held on October 6, 2012 at the Mahalia Jackson Community Center and gave attendees a foundation for understanding reform efforts in Louisiana by highlighting significant educational laws. The laws highlighted were (1) the educational component of the state constitution, (2) the charter school law and (3) Act 35 (the RSD Takeover Law). The speakers for this session were Mr. Willie Zanders, Esq. (NOPSE Justice) and Mr. Ed Morris, Esq. (Orleans Parish School Board General Counsel). |
The Second Session |
The second session, The Challenge of Effective Leadership, took place on October 13, 2012 at the Andrew H. Wilson Elementary Charter School. This session focused on the challenges that school and district leadership faced when overseeing and directing schools or school systems. The panelists for this session were Caroline Roemer-Shirley (Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools), Dr. Brian Beabout (UNO), and Ann Meese (former Superintendent of a charter school). |
The Third Session |
The third session, Building a Model That Works for New Orleans, took place on October 20, 2012 at the Knights of Columbus. This session focused on the necessary components of a governance model, the functions that a governance model would be responsible for, and the models that have been presented for the future of New Orleans. The panelists for this session were Rev. Dr. Torin Sanders and Katy Bulkley (Montclair State University). |
The Fourth Session |
The final session, Community Dialogue and Decision Making, took place on October 27, 2012. This meeting was held in two locations simultaneously: Christian Unity Baptist Church and O. Perry Walker High School. This session allowed the community to build their own models of governance and then the collective voted on the final model (the model with the most support). |
Downloads |
Correlates of Effective Schools Effective School Boards Handout Final Governance Educationary Previous Local Governance Models School Governance Definition Wicked Problems & Social Complexity |
100 Black Men of Metropolitan New Orleans | Bethlehem Lutheran Church | C-6 | CapBlack Central City Renaissance | Alliance Children’s Defense Fund- New Orleans | Christian Unity Baptist Church | Churches Supporting Churches | Committee for a Better New Orleans | Families and Friends of Louisiana Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) | Gloryland Mount Gillion Baptist Church | Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools | League of Women Voters | Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools | Mount Ararat Missionary Baptist Church | National Coalition of 100 Black Women -Greater New Orleans Chapter | Neighborhoods Partnership Network | New Hope Baptist Church | New Schools for New Orleans | “New Zion” City Preservation Association, Inc. | Puentes New Orleans | Resurrection After Exoneration | The Alliance Institute | The Micah Project | The Ponchartrain Chapter of Links Incorporated | The Sixth Baptist Church | Total Community Action | United Teachers of New Orleans | Urban League of Greater New Orleans | Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA) | Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries | Xavier University of Louisiana -Department of Education
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