How Katrina Transformed New Orleans Schools

Key Takeaways

Post-Katrina, New Orleans public schools were transformed into an all-charter system by state officials.
The overhaul led to significant changes in the teaching force and school autonomy.
Academic metrics like graduation rates and test scores saw substantial improvement.
New Orleans schools are now diversifying success metrics beyond test scores and considering traditional options.

Following Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago, Louisiana state officials initiated a comprehensive transformation of New Orleans' public school system, previously considered one of the country's worst.
The state leveraged 2003 legislation by state Board of Education member Leslie Jacobs to establish a recovery school district for "failing" schools, which was rapidly expanded post-Katrina.
New Orleans schools had been declining for decades before Katrina, marked by corruption, mismanagement, low test scores, and only half of students graduating on time.

The state swiftly converted 100 New Orleans schools into charter schools, an educational model popular in the 2000s, with federal aid contributing $44 million in the first year.
This shift decentralized public education, aimed to empower individual schools and parents, and introduced competition, but faced initial negative reactions from some residents.
The new system implemented strict accountability based on test scores, allowing for school closures if performance targets were not met.

Less than one-third of pre-Katrina teachers returned to the system, with many laid off and required to reapply and pass a proficiency exam, which some described as a "slap in the face."
Teach For America expanded significantly, bringing in hundreds of new, often white, out-of-town educators, shifting the teaching force from predominantly experienced Black women.
By 2013, most New Orleans teachers had less than five years of experience, and turnover doubled; later, schools prioritized hiring local, experienced teachers.

New Orleans charter schools achieved significant academic improvements, with mastery rates on state exams rising from 6% pre-Katrina to over 30% by 2015, and graduation rates increasing from roughly 50% to over 80%.
Early success metrics focused on college enrollment and graduation, leading to a "college-for-all" emphasis, with networks like KIPP aiming to get all students through college.
The system later acknowledged that a college degree alone does not guarantee long-term success, with KIPP diversifying its focus to include technical fields like cosmetology and nursing.

Living School, which fostered student confidence, was closed after receiving a failing state grade, despite emotional pleas from over two dozen community members.
Superintendent Avis Williams recommended non-renewal based on an "F" grade, though board member Nolan Marshall acknowledged the unfairness of judging primarily by test scores.
The school board is now re-evaluating its approach, considering student growth more heavily and diversifying criteria to include course offerings, extracurriculars, and career pathways.