1. What is New Schools for New Orleans?

New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) is a nonprofit organization led by a team of experienced, dedicated educators. We are committed to our vision of excellent public schools for every child in New Orleans, and are working to achieve this vision by:

• Attracting and preparing talent to teach and lead in our city's public schools
• Launching and supporting open-enrollment public charter schools
• Advocating for accountable and sustainable high-quality public schools in New Orleans

New Schools for New Orleans was originally founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to champion the recovery and reformation of public education in New Orleans. Once ranked among the worst school districts in America, New Orleans public schools are now transforming into a national model for urban education reform. New Schools for New Orleans is working alongside other key education organizations, governing institutions, and community groups in New Orleans to ensure that the changing landscape of New Orleans schools is fueled by great people and resources.

2. What are the differences between public charter schools and traditional public schools in New Orleans?

Let's start with the similarities. Public charter schools and traditional public schools are both public schools. In post-Katrina New Orleans, nearly all public schools–charter and traditional alike–are open to any New Orleans child. (The only exceptions to this are a small number of selective public schools that were established before Katrina and are restricted based on student location and/or academic criteria. By law, no new charter schools can be selective).

The two most significant differences between public charter schools and traditional public schools in New Orleans are in the areas of autonomy and accountability.

• Autonomy:
Public charter schools have significantly more autonomy than traditional public schools. Public charter schools have independent control over curriculum, hiring staff, setting salaries, and negotiating support services such as transportation and food services. In contrast, traditional public schools adhere to district policies and standards in all of the above areas.

• Accountability:
In exchange for their increased autonomy, public charter schools are held to strict measures of accountability in the areas of student performance, safety and compliance, and financial and operational practices. In New Orleans, public charter schools operate under a contract issued by either the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), the state-run Recovery School District (RSD), or the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). Louisiana's accountability standards for charter schools are among the most rigorous in the nation.

3. Why does New Schools for New Orleans focus on open-enrollment public charter schools?

New Orleans is undergoing one of the most comprehensive educational transformations in recent history. This unprecedented transformation has been driven by the creation of open-enrollment public charter schools. At New Schools for New Orleans, we believe that open-enrollment public charter schools offer the greatest potential to transform our city's educational landscape into a national model for urban education reform. The combination of accountability and autonomy in open-enrollment charter schools attracts high-performing school leaders who are innovative and driven to achieve excellent results.

After post-Katrina legislative reforms and a state takeover of failing New Orleans schools, New Orleans is now home to the greatest proportion of charter schools of any city in the United States. Open-enrollment public charter schools are open to any child in New Orleans, and the framework of autonomy and accountability compels these schools to be driven by an intense focus on student achievement. Given these factors, we believe that open-enrollment public charter schools are accelerating our city towards the day when every child in New Orleans will have the opportunity to attend an excellent public school.

4. Aren't charter schools selective? I thought that charter schools pick and choose their students.

No. The vast majority of public charter schools in New Orleans are open-enrollment charter schools, which means that they are open to any child in New Orleans. Moreover, Louisiana charter law requires that charter schools reflect the at-risk population of public schools in their district.

Of the forty-one New Orleans charter schools operating in 2007-2008, eight use selective admissions criteria. These criteria include academic or geographic requirements, and they range in their degree of selectivity. By law, all new public charter schools are required to be open-enrollment charter schools.

New Schools for New Orleans specifically supports open-enrollment charter schools, because we believe that these schools offer the greatest potential to transform what was once an ineffective and corrupt bureaucracy into a system of excellent schools. For this transformation to succeed, there must be a system of excellent schools that serve all New Orleans children, regardless of class, race, neighborhood, or educational background.

5. How are charter schools funded? Do charter school students pay tuition?

Like all public schools, New Orleans charter schools receive public funding on a per-pupil basis. Most charter schools are organized as nonprofit corporations, and can supplement their public funds with private donations. Public charter schools must be tuition free.

6. Does New Schools for New Orleans also support traditional public schools in New Orleans?

New Schools for New Orleans is primarily focused on open-enrollment public charter schools in New Orleans, because we believe that these schools offer the greatest potential to transform New Orleans public schools into a system of excellent schools.

However, we believe that every child in New Orleans must be able to attend an excellent public school. To that end, New Schools for New Orleans also supports existing public schools, including both traditional and charter schools. New Schools for New Orleans provides targeted grants to improve board governance, data-driven instruction, and financial and operational practices in existing schools that demonstrate the ability to capitalize on our investment. When necessary, we will also provide grants to help existing schools through orderly closure or leadership change. In addition, New Schools for New Orleans works closely with the state-run Recovery School District (RSD) on teacher recruitment and placement in both public charter schools and traditional public schools.

7. Who are The New Teacher Project (TNTP) and TeachNOLA? What do they have to do with New Schools for New Orleans?

New Schools for New Orleans reached out to The New Teacher Project (TNTP) shortly after Katrina to launch an aggressive teacher recruitment campaign in New Orleans. In response to the dearth of educators after the storm, New Schools for New Orleans targeted TNTP because of its national reputation for outstanding teacher quality and performance.

New Schools for New Orleans worked with TNTP to create TeachNOLA, a local arm of TNTP that is focused exclusively on recruiting, training, and placing teachers in New Orleans public schools. New Schools for New Orleans has now established a long-term partnership with TeachNOLA to fill New Orleans public schools with high-quality educators. For more information on this organizational partner of New Schools for New Orleans, visit www.teachnola.org.

8. Who is New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS)? What does NLNS have to do with New Schools for New Orleans?

New Schools for New Orleans reached out to New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) because of the overwhelming need for outstanding school leaders in New Orleans after Katrina. NLNS is a national organization that recruits, trains, and places outstanding principals in public schools, and is recognized for selecting and developing exemplary leaders.

New Schools for New Orleans has now established a partnership with NLNS to recruit, train, and place 40 outstanding leaders in New Orleans public schools over the next three years. Our financial and strategic support was critical to NLNS' decision to expand into New Orleans, and we are thrilled to be working together to fill New Orleans public schools with outstanding leaders. For more information on this organizational partner of New Schools for New Orleans, visit www.nlns.org.

9. Exactly how does New Schools for New Orleans help New Orleans public schools?

New Schools for New Orleans is helping New Orleans public schools transform into a system of excellent public schools. We are doing this in several ways:

• We launch outstanding new open-enrollment public charter schools. We select, invest in, and prepare exemplary school leaders to create excellent open-enrollment public charter schools in New Orleans. For more information on our New School Incubation program, please visit www.newschoolsforneworleans.org.

• We develop talent to lead and teach in public charter schools. In addition to our recruitment partnerships with TeachNOLA and New Leaders for New Schools (see questions 7 and 8), we develop outstanding educators to lead and teach in our incubated schools and other public schools.

• We provide grants to promote quality in existing schools. These grants are aimed to (a) improve the academic outcomes of existing schools that have the ability to capitalize on our investment, (b) work with an existing school to make a leadership change, and (c) assist with the orderly closure of failing schools when necessary.

• We advocate for accountable and sustainable high-quality public schools. In addition to our partnerships with TeachNOLA and New Leaders for New Schools, New Schools for New Orleans works closely with the state-run Recovery School District and other community organizations to inform New Orleans parents and the community about New Orleans public schools, and to coordinate a unified effort towards the common goal of improving student achievement and quality.

10. How is New Schools for New Orleans funded?

New Schools for New Orleans is funded by generous donations and grants from foundations, corporations and individuals. Like all non-profit organizations, we depend on a steady stream of gifts and gratefully accept contributions of all sizes. For more information, please contact our Director of Development, Morgan Carter, at morgan@nsno.org.

11. Who is in charge of New Orleans public schools? What is the RSD? BESE? OPSB?

The short answer:

New Orleans public schools are currently under the jurisdiction of either the state-run Recovery School District (RSD), the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), or the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). The majority of New Orleans public schools are now independently run public charter schools, overseen by the RSD, OPSB or BESE - but independently controlled. In exchange for their autonomy, which includes control over everything from budget to staffing to curriculum – these charter schools are held accountable to rigorous performance metrics.

The longer answer:

Until the fall of 2005, New Orleans public schools were centralized under one authority – the notoriously corrupt and ineffective Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). After decades of fiscal, academic, and administrative failure, Hurricane Katrina served as a catalyst for change in New Orleans schools. Amidst Katrina's catastrophic results came the opportunity for reform, a chance for New Orleans to fix what was by all accounts one of the worst performing urban school districts in America.

In November 2005, the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill that expanded the power of the state to take over failing school districts in Louisiana. This legislation enabled a state takeover of 107 of Orleans Parish's 128 public schools. Given the condition of the city at the time, this transfer of authority was at first in name alone, but it led to a state-run Recovery School District (RSD) that would eventually control the vast majority of public schools in post-Katrina New Orleans.

The RSD takeover in the fall of 2005 turned what was once a centralized bureaucracy into a decentralized system of schools governed by multiple authorities. Federal and state support encouraged the expansion of public charter schools, whose charters were authorized by the RSD, OPSB, or BESE (the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education). By spring 2007, over half of the city's public schools were charter schools, independently controlled and accountable to strict performance measures.

12. How can parents and families learn more about public schools in New Orleans?

For the changing landscape of New Orleans schools to succeed, parents must know their options and be ready to exercise them. New Schools for New Orleans is thrilled to have contributed to the creation of the New Orleans Parents' Guide to Public Schools, released in June 2007 and distributed to thousands of New Orleans parents near and far. For a current copy of the guide, complete with updated descriptions of all New Orleans public schools, please visit www.nolaparentsguide.org.

13. Who can I contact for more information on New Schools for New Orleans?

Please write to info@nsno.org or call 504-274-3619.