A decade of improving schools following a disaster

lfc_presidentDuring this decade of rebirth following Hurricane Katrina, one of the more remarkable transformations has been New Orleans’ K-12 education landscape. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, public education in New Orleans was experiencing its own mini-disaster. We had a school board that was completely dysfunctional, the system’s finances were a mess and worst of all, children were not learning.

While significant education reforms were enacted just prior to Katrina, it took this tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Louisianans to force us to make changes that we all knew needed to be made.

The things that held us back for so many years — corrupt politicians, turf wars, and the desire by many to maintain the status quo — were washed away by Katrina.

The disaster thrust upon stakeholders — parents, school boards, lawmakers, unions and reform advocates — the urgency to come together to create an educational environment that would put children and families at the forefront.

What’s ahead in the next 10 years for education in New Orleans?

We must look to parents, who are now more informed, empowered and engaged in the education of their children.

They are saying loudly and unequivocally, “Don’t go back!” This is a window of opportunity, opened by Katrina, that cannot be closed.

We won’t reach the finish line until all choices are good choices; where every school is an excellent school, in every New Orleans neighborhood.

Ann Duplessis
President, Louisiana Federation for Children

 

Ann Duplessis’ letter to editor appeared in The Advocate on August 29, 2015. She is a former state legislator where she served on the Senate Education Committee and fought successfully to expand educational options for Louisiana’s children by authoring and supporting numerous pieces of school choice legislation.

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