After Hurricane Katrina 

 

The New Orleans Education Landscape Today

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding, the Louisiana Legislature took action to hand over the majority of Orleans Parish public schools to the state Recovery School District (RSD). The RSD was created as the entity to intervene in and turnaround low-performing schools. This action led to the system of schools that exists in New Orleans today, with multiple governing entities (click here to view governance chart) and 92 percent of students in charter schools. Since then, public education in New Orleans has seen unprecedented growth in student achievement and has served as a national model for state recovery districts and innovative practices such as centralized enrollment.

This webpage contains historical data and information on all public schools in New Orleans over the last ten years and is organized by topic. Topics include summary analyses, detailed school- and district-level data, and links to relevant reports, media releases, and articles.

  • Student Enrollment and Demographics

  • Academic Outcomes

  • High School Performance

  • Students with Disabilities

  • African-American Students

  • Student Discipline

  • School Facilities

  • Ensuring Equitable Access for All Students

To learn more about the performance of the Recovery School District schools specifically in the above areas, click here.

For more information, please contact us.


Student Enrollment and Demographics

In the ten years since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has seen its public school enrollment return to more than two-thirds its pre-storm level. Nearly all students are enrolled in charter schools and the student population continues to be overwhelmingly African-American and eligible for free or reduced lunch. In recent years there has been some increase in racial and socioeconomic diversity.

Please click here for an analysis of enrollment trends, including a closer look at charter school growth and demographic changes over the last 10 years. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

Other Reports and Documents


Academic Outcomes

Academic outcomes for public school students in New Orleans as measured by standardized tests and school performance scores have improved significantly in the ten years since Hurricane Katrina. Once near the bottom in performance statewide, New Orleans students are closing the achievement gap with their peers.

Please click here for an analysis of student and school performance, including information on student proficiency rates, school performance scores, and district performance scores. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

*Note: Letter grades corresponding to School Performance Scores were introduced in 2011. Beginning in 2012-2013, the scale and methodology for calculating School Performance Scores and letter grades changed. The new scale moved from 0 to 200 to 0 to 150.

Other Reports and Documents

  • 2014 Recovery School District Annual Report
    The Recovery School District mission is to transform academically struggling schools to ensure that all students have access to an excellent public education. This is the most recent annual report on the RSD’s progress.

High School Performance

Since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ high school students have made remarkable gains in testing, graduation rates, and college enrollment. New Orleans students now graduate on time at nearly the same rate as the state average and are enrolling in college at an equivalent rate.

Please click here for an analysis of high school student performance, including information on school performance scores, student test scores, cohort graduation rates, dropout rates, college enrollment, and TOPS college scholarships. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files


Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities in New Orleans public schools are seeing greater academic achievement and on-time graduation rates than their peers statewide.

Please click here to learn how New Orleans’ students with disabilities continue to excel. The analysis includes enrollment, student proficiency rates, and cohort graduation rates. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

Press Releases and News Articles


African-American Students

African-American students have historically made up the significant majority of the student population in New Orleans’ public schools and had generally seen lower rates of academic achievement. Since Hurricane Katrina, African-American students are seeing high levels of growth in test scores and graduation rates.

Please click here for a report on New Orleans’ African-American students, including enrollment counts, test proficiency, and cohort graduation rates. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

Student Discipline

New Orleans has been a leader in instituting best practices for student discipline and expulsions. Citywide expulsion rates are below the statewide average and continue to decline, seeing a 39 percent drop between the first half of the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.

For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

Press Releases and News Articles

Other Reports and Documents

Since 2012, New Orleans has had a centralized expulsion process managed by the RSD’s Student Hearing Office. All schools in the city currently participate in this process to ensure that all students receive due process. This manual outlines the unified expulsion policy and processes followed by all public schools in New Orleans.

*Note: These data are compiled by the Recovery School District’s Student Hearing Office based on the definition of expulsion as outlined in its 2014-2015 Manual for Disciplinary Decisions. This data may differ from data reported directly by schools to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Facilities

In 2010, the Recovery School District (RSD) and Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) received approximately $1.8 billion from the federal government to renovate and rebuild schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Together, they are implementing the School Facilities Master Plan which will lead to all students being education in new, renovated, or refurbished buildings at its completion.

Please click here for an analysis of New Orleans School Facilities Master Plan, including a breakdown of facility projects, total costs and students served. For more information, data files and other resources are provided below.

Data Files

      • Paul L. Dunbar Elementary 
      • Stuart R. Bradley Elementary
      • McDonogh #42 Elementary
      • Edward Livingston High
      • Charles R. Drew Elementary

      Press Releases and News Articles

      Other Reports and Documents


      Ensuring Equitable Access For All Students

      Public schools in New Orleans have uniform policies and procedures across all schools to ensure that students can equitably access schools and that resources are being used efficiently and effectively.

      Centralized Enrollment
      The centralized enrollment system, including the annual OneApp process, was created in 2011 so that students receive a single school placement based on family preference and the number of available seats. 89% of New Orleans public schools participate in OneApp.

      Reports and Documents

      Centralized Expulsion

      Since 2012, there has been a centralized expulsion process through the RSD’s Student Hearing Office. All schools in the city currently participate in this process to ensure that all students receive due process.

      OTHER REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS

      Cooperative Endeavor Agreement

      In 2014, RSD and OPSB signed a cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) that clarified and defined the relationship between the school districts in three key areas: educational programs and services intended to meet the needs of the city’s most vulnerable students; facility improvement; and the efficient and equitable use of funding and shared financial resources. View the signed CEA here


        OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

        • Governance Chart: The governance chart breaks out all of the schools by their governing body (Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Orleans Parish School Board and Recovery School District).

        • RSD Annual ReportThe Recovery School District mission is to transform academically struggling schools to ensure that all students have access to an excellent public education. This is the most recent annual report on RSD’s progress.

        • Charter School Performance CompactThe Charter School Performance Compact lays out how RSD Type 5 and BESE Type 2 schools are regularly assessed and held accountable. The Compact provides a structure for intervening in schools that are failing to meet performance standards.