Resources

Press Releases and Newsletters

January 12, 2012 - Third round of i3 awards announced. Latest investments provide innovative charter solution to the city’s alternative school needs.
Total awards to date will equip nine charter operators to serve more than 4,500 students citywide.

September 23, 2011 - Pursuing Quality and Scale: New Orleans Charter Schools Outperform National Averages.  As reported recently in the New Orleans Times Picayune, the results from the September 2011 CREDO (Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University) analysis are in and they are unequivocally positive.  Nearly 50% of the 46 open-enrollment New Orleans charter schools evaluated achieved results well above their traditional public school counterparts. When compared to CREDO’s national charter study run in 2009, almost three times the number of New Orleans charter schools achieved superior results vs. the national averages.  In both studies CREDO used the same methodology, and the results were strikingly different - download PDF chart.

Nationally, the ability of charter schools to scale and serve every child in a city has been much debated. And rightfully so, given the mixed track record of charter schools. But New Orleans educators are beginning to shed further light on how a thoughtfully-designed charter school strategy can transform educational outcomes in a city. New Orleans charter schools serve nearly 80% of New Orleans students. And, as the CREDO study demonstrates, they are serving these students well. This is further evidence of what can be achieved when excellent educators are empowered to operate their own schools. Yet, despite these impressive results, the fact that 26% of New Orleans charter schools lag behind state averages demonstrates how far we still have to go. "Better than before" is by no means good enough. All told, the data is both validating and humbling. But the results are encouraging, both for New Orleans students and for the promise of charter schools as a vehicle for systemic reform. We hope that other cities can learn from our successes and mistakes.       -  Neerav Kingsland, NSNO Chief Strategy Officer

September 9, 2011 – New Orleans charter schools once again demonstrate significant impact on student achievement citywide. The 2012 School Opening (Fall Round) application launches today along with recent i3 Effect Size assessment results - a criteria for both application and award.

  • Click here to download the press release. (PDF)
  • Click here to download The New Orleans Project: 2012 Award Eligibility and Selection Criteria. (PDF)

June 23, 2011 – Second round of competitive i3 selection process results in the funding of $3.68 million to turn around academically unacceptable schools in the 2012-13 school year. Click here to download the press release (PDF).

March 28, 2011 – Competitive i3 selection process results in the funding of $2.33 million to turn around academically unacceptable schools in the 2011-12 school year. Click here to download the press release. (PDF)

March 17, 2011 – A new assessment prepared by CREDO (Center for Research on Education Outcomes, and used to determine i3 eligibility lists 23 charter schools in New Orleans that demonstrate significantly better results in math and/or reading than their traditional district-run school counterparts. 

  • Click here to download the press release. (PDF)
  • Click here to download an overview of i3 Award Eligibility and Selection Criteria. (PDF)
  • Click here to download the list of open-enrollment charter schools eligible to apply for i3 awards. (PDF)
  • Cick here to download the list of criteria admissions/academic exit requirement charter schools eligible to apply for i3 awards. (PDF)

January 7, 2011 – Today, New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) and the Recovery School District (RSD) announce the selection of Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) to evaluate school reforms implemented under the “Scaling the New Orleans Restart Model” i3 Project. Click here to download the press release (PDF).

August 5, 2010 - Today the U.S. Department of Education announce a huge win for the city of New Orleans. New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO), the Recovery School District (RSD) and the Achievement School District (ASD) of Tennessee partnered on a successful application to the Investing in Innovation (i3) program of the Department of Education. The result: a $28 million dollar grant. Click here to download the press release (PDF).