Become a part of New Orleans schools’ voice of the next. OPEN is seeking a skilled Executive Director who can craft strategic issue campaigns and work collaboratively with other nonprofit leaders in New Orleans, and across the state, to build and fund a powerful education advocacy network.
Click here to access the job description and instruction applications!
Deirdre Johnson Burel
Executive Director, Orleans Public Education Network
In a statement released on February 24, OPEN joined with in the movement calling upon the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to create a more fair and equitable funding formula for our schools.
Click here to read the letter in its entirety.
EXCERPTED: “This March, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will have the opportunity to approve a school funding policy for New Orleans that ensures schools serving significant populations of our city’s students with high-needs receive the funding they need to provide an excellent and equitable education to all their students. The formula currently under consideration would route additional funding to schools serving students with disabilities, English language learners, significantly over-age students, as well as those identified as gifted or talented…
When confronted with decisions on how to allocate limited resources, students in our city who may face a more challenging road to academic excellence should receive the additional resources necessary to provide them with an equitable opportunity to achieve their dreams.
We urge BESE to approve a formula that sufficiently and equitably funds schools based on the needs of their students. Approval of a funding formula that truly differentiates according to our students’ needs is vital to continuing the progress we have made and is a clear demonstration of New Orleans’ commitment to equity for all students.”
Participating organizations include the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, New Schools for New Orleans, VAYLA New Orleans, Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, the New Orleans Parents’ Guide to Public Schools, STAND for Children, Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools and the Youth Empowerment Project.
WHAT: A panel of diverse education leaders discussing the future of the profession; open community planning session where participants will collaborate to create a direct action strategy on how to strengthen New Orleans’ educator workforce from recruitment to retention; and a parent-teacher resource fair that will provide educators and parents with a school supply giveaway, coaching opportunities from master teachers, professional development opportunities, and direct support resources on topics like early childhood, classroom management, trauma-informed instruction, COMPASS, and teaching reading.
WHY: • To connect educators to fellow teachers, community supporters, resources and strategies
• Expand awareness of teacher efficacy
• Increase community support for teachers and the teaching profession
• Create a citizen-led action plan on local educator workforce development from recruitment to retention
• Build a path forward to making New Orleans a “teachers first” city
TOPICS: Teacher training | Classroom instruction strategies | Cultural competence | The role of diversity in teaching| The need for grow-your-own talent | And much more!
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 2015, 9:00am – 2:00pm
WHERE: Xavier University Administration Building Auditorium | 1 Drexel Dr., New Orleans LA
Click here to RSVP today!
Refreshments, childcare and transportation provided
It’s that time of year again — the OPEN Public Education Awards are coming up! We’re humbled to announce this year’s premiere awardees:
On Thursday July 23, parent voice finally took center stage in the New Orleans education conversation. The NOLA Parent Perspectives Town Hall brought together real parents of New Orleans public school students to showcase broad and diverse perspectives on issues like OneApp, school closure, governance, accountability and more. Polls taken at the event demonstrated that:
• 53% of people in attendance if they could change one thing about the OneApp process they would mandate that all schools participate
• 96% of people in attendance voted against school closures as a means for dealing with a failing schools
• 64% of people in attendance voted that all schools should be returned under the jurisdiction of Orleans Parish School Board
The event was co-produced by OPEN, Stand for Children Louisiana, Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Urban League of Greater New Orleans.
Click here to see a full video of the panel on WYES!
Click here to read a full recap at the Second Line Education Blog!
On Friday July 25th, we were proud to co-host the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Pop Up Happy Hour at the Civic Community Hub!
This monthly event brings a host of entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals, civic leaders and more to celebrate a local nonprofit. The event also served to show off the Civic Community Hub (CCH), OPEN’s shared space with the Alliance Institute, Neighborhood Partnership Network and a slew of other small nonprofits. The CCH is a physical and figurative space for building and supporting the civic infrastructure that is essential to building a vibrant and sustainable New Orleans.
Click here to see a gallery of pictures from the event!
Rent Space in the Civic Community Hub!
The CCH is proud to provide meeting and working space for nonprofit, community groups and other entities at affordable rates:
DOWNSTAIRS CONFERENCE ROOM
Seats 12+ | Starts at $50/day
UPSTAIRS CONFERENCE ROOM
Seats 40+ | Starts at $125/day
INDIVIDUAL WORKSPACES
Desk, telephone and office amenities access | Starts at $50/day
We’re proud to announce the new initiatives, opportunities and programs provided by two generous grants from our funder-partners at the William K. Kellogg Foundation and the Institute for Mental Hygiene.
Impacting School Readiness in NOLA
The William K. Kellogg Foundation is helping us to ensure that by 2020, every child in New Orleans enters school ready to learn. We’re mobilizing the community for optimal child development using the vulnerability and asset data collected through the Early Development Instrument. If you’ve followed our work over the last few years, this will sound familiar — we’ve collected development data on over 65% of New Orleans’ kindergarten-age children, and we’re excited to bring that number even higher this fall!
Building a Cadre of Change Agents
OPEN announces the launch of a two-generational strategy to building stronger voices for children – Family Leadership Training Institute. This fall, in partnership with the Institute of Mental Hygiene and the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, OPEN will expand its current PLTI program to serve children between the ages of 3 – 12 with the Children’s Leadership Training Institute, and merge the programs under one umbrella: the Family Leadership Training Institute.
Building on a best-practice national model, FLTI takes a two-generational approach to building the leadership and voice that is needed to strengthen families, improve child outcomes, and strengthen advocacy to improve multi-sector family-serving agencies – education, health, and social services. At a time, when our city grapples with persistent child poverty rates, and gun-violence. FLTI is turning the tide at the anchor institution – the family!
Above: Kanitra receiving her PLTI NOLA diploma
at the 2015 graduation ceremony.
We are thrilled to announce that PLTI NOLA 2015 graduate Kanitra Charles and Julia Bland of the Louisiana Children’s Museum met First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony honoring exceptional libraries and museums. The LCM received a 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Sciences — one of only ten museums and libraries in the nation to do so.
The two ladies were in the White House’s East Room, where Ms. Obama told Kanitra to send a message back home to her four kids — “Listen to your mom.”
We’re so proud of the Children’s Museum for all that they do for the youth of New Orleans, and of Kanitra for being a partner in their mission. Please join us in giving them a round of applause!
It’s official: OPEN had an amazing GiveNOLA Day, with over $22,000 raised through generous donor-partners like you. We are awed, humbled and touched by your support, and solemnly pledge to put your gifts to good use.
Everything we do, we do in partnership. Thank you for not just supporting OPEN, but BEING open with your contribution of time, talent and treasure. We’re looking forward to building more excellent and equitable solutions for children and families in 2015 and beyond.
