Mayor de Blasio continues to dismiss questions about charter schools by saying they represent only 5% of New York’s student population. Which makes a contrast with New Orleans illuminating.
There, both the Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, and a Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu, are supporting a dramatic experiment in public education: In today’s New Orleans, nine out of 10 public-school students attend charter schools. In addition, slightly less than half of the city’s total student population attend Catholic schools.
In other words, this is the reverse of New York. It is a decentralized system that grew out of failure. When Katrina hit, New Orleans was among the worst school districts in the nation. Now it’s improving.
Sen. Landrieu put it this way: “We’re not rebuilding the city we were, we’re rebuilding the city we’ve always dreamed we could be . . . and that includes a brand new entrepreneurial, public-school system.” Jindal has backed this up with support for vouchers that extend choice even further. In other words, the emphasis is not on who’s providing the education but who can deliver results.
The experiment is still in its early days, but despite constant attacks by the satraps of the status quo, it’s showing results.
Polls show parents like having choices. Graduation rates are up. And students qualifying for college scholarships based on testing have jumped to 27% in 2013, compared to less than 6% pre-Katrina.
A report by Tulane University’s Cowen Institute summed up student performance gains this way: “In the years since Hurricane Katrina, public schools in New Orleans have seen standardized-test performance improve, fewer students attend failing schools and more students graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace. The progress extends to all school types and all performance measures.”
New Orleans still has a way to go. But it is going in the right direction. Maybe New York’s moms and dads should send Mayor Bill down to the Big Easy — and let him see what a school system based on choice and charters can do to boost achievement and reduce inequality.