Teachers’ Perspectives on the Learning and Work Environments Under the New Orleans School Reforms

New Orleans schools experienced drastic reforms after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. To examine teachers’ perspectives on these reforms, we surveyed 323 teachers who taught in New Orleans public schools before 2005 and in 2013–2014. Teachers directly compared the learning and work environments and student and teacher outcomes of their current schools to those of their pre-Katrina schools. Returning teachers perceived significant and generally positive changes in learning environments and student outcomes but mixed positive and negative changes in work environments. Despite improvements in school environments, the net result is that teachers became less satisfied with their jobs. These results show that intensive, sustained school reform can lead to significant changes, but these changes can have negative impacts on teachers.

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Who Governs? How Shifts in Political Power Shape Perceptions of Local Government Services

Urban Affairs Review ◽

10.1177/1078087419855675 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 56 (5) ◽

pp. 1503-1528 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Domingo Morel ◽

Sally A. Nuamah

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Local Government ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

New Orleans ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Political Power ◽

The Public ◽

Government Services ◽

Traditional Public Schools

What factors influence citizens’ perceptions of local government services? To answer this question, we examine citizens’ perceptions of public education in post-Katrina New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans began to transform most of its traditional public schools into charters. Although studies show that test scores have improved since the mass adoption of charters post-Katrina, surveys show that most Black citizens in New Orleans do not perceive that the New Orleans schools have improved post-Katrina. A majority of White residents, however, perceive that the schools are better post-Katrina. Relying on a survey of New Orleans residents, we argue that local shifts in political power by race help explain the racial differences in perceptions of the public schools. The study’s findings suggest that perceptions of the quality of public goods are shaped by perceptions of “who governs?”

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Contending with school reform

Focaal ◽

10.3167/fcl.2018.820107 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 (82) ◽

pp. 94-108

Author(s):

Mathilde Lind Gustavussen

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Charter Schools ◽

School Reform ◽

Education Reform ◽

New Orleans ◽

School System ◽

Racial Politics ◽

The Social ◽

Neoliberal Policies ◽

Us Cities

This article presents a study of state-imposed neoliberal education reform and resistance in post-Katrina New Orleans. In Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, the city’s school system was dramatically reformed with most of its public schools replaced by privately administered “charter schools.” The article examines the social contradictions created by this reform and characterizes how the city’s education activists articulate their resistance to education privatization. Situating the reform within New Orleans’s post-Katrina neoliberal reconfiguration, it analyzes how simultaneous processes of education privatization and racial dispossession have made the reform lack popular legitimacy. The article concludes by considering how the neoliberal policies implemented after the storm were conditioned by race, arguing that racial politics should be considered fundamental, rather than adjacent, to the study of neoliberalization in US cities.

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A Demographic Paradox: How Public School Students in New Orleans Have Become More Racially Integrated and Isolated Since Hurricane Katrina

Education and Urban Society ◽

10.1177/0013124517714310 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 50 (9) ◽

pp. 818-838 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stephen Kotok ◽

Brian Beabout ◽

Steven L. Nelson ◽

Luis E. Rivera

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

New Orleans ◽

Department Of Education ◽

School Level ◽

Demographic Shift ◽

Racially Diverse ◽

School Students ◽

Public School Students ◽

Level Data

Following the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans public schools underwent a variety of changes including a mass influx of charter schools as well as a demographic shift in the racial composition of the district. Using school-level data from the Louisiana Department of Education, this study examines the extent that New Orleans public schools are more or less racially integrated, racially segregated, and concentrated by poverty almost a decade after Katrina. The study utilizes exposure indices, inferential statistics, and geospatial analysis to examine how levels of school integration and segregation have changed over time. Our findings indicate that though a greater share of New Orleans schools are considered racially diverse than prior to Katrina, a greater share of minority students are now attending dually segregated schools, where over 90% of students are classified as minority and are receiving free/reduced lunch.

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Feet to the Fire: New Orleans Kids Rethink Their Devastated School System

Teachers College Record ◽

10.1177/016146811511701306 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 117 (13) ◽

pp. 221-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jane Wholey ◽

Betty Burkes

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

New Orleans ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Critical Role ◽

The United States ◽

Youth Voice ◽

Civic Leaders ◽

Common Goals ◽

Historical Moment

Before 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed most New Orleans public schools, youth voice was rarely heard in the superintendent's office. In this chapter, we tell the story of a youth organization that grabbed the historical moment to rethink one of the lowest-performing school systems in the United States. “The Rethinkers,” as they called themselves, advocated for policy change at well-attended, youth-led news conferences, coaxed agreements from officials in front of TV cameras, and held their civic leaders’ feet to the fire. Eventually, the Rethinkers earned a seat at the school reform table in New Orleans. We describe the first generation of Rethinkers as they gradually deepen their dedication to one another and their cause. We highlight the critical role adult partnerships played in the success of the Re-thinkers. These adults deeply respected youth voice and shared skills such as critical thinking, architectural design, and public speaking. Finally, we describe how the Rethinkers have built victories from a strong set of beliefs that include mutual respect and honest relationships with outsiders based on common goals. “We have a vision: a great education for every kid in New Orleans, no matter what neighborhood they stay in, no matter how much money their parents make, no matter the color of their skin.” – Isaiah Simms, Rethink-er, age 11, at a 2006 news conference

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From Teacher Improvement to Teacher Turnover: Unintended Consequences of School Reform in Quincy, Massachusetts, 1872–1893

History of Education Quarterly ◽

10.1017/heq.2021.20 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-31

Author(s):

Jeremy T. Murphy

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Public Schools ◽

School Reform ◽

School System ◽

Teacher Turnover ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

School Reforms ◽

Teacher Improvement ◽

Teacher Labor Market ◽

Child Centered

Abstract The “Quincy Method” is widely considered a successful nineteenth-century school reform. Pioneered by Francis Parker in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1875, it fostered broad pedagogic change in an ordinary school system, transforming Quincy into a renowned hub of child-centered instruction. This article revisits the reform and explores its interaction with the Massachusetts teacher labor market. In a market characterized by low wages and an oversupply of teachers but few experienced, well-trained ones, teachers used Quincy's reform to obtain higher-paying, higher-status positions while municipalities used it to recruit competent applicants. Both practices jeopardized Quincy's cohesive system. Though the ensuing turnover may have brought progressive pedagogies to the mainstream, departing teachers frequently assumed positions outside public schools or in systems ill-structured to maintain their expertise. Accordingly, the article probes a celebrated reform's unintended consequences and contributes to scholarship on nineteenth-century progressive school reforms and women teachers.

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New Orleans Educational System in Public Schools Pre/Post Hurricane Katrina as Perceived by Special Education Teachers

World Journal of Education ◽

10.5430/wje.v8n2p88 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 88

Author(s):

Sultan Alzahrani

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Public Schools ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

New Orleans ◽

Educational System ◽

Special Education Teachers ◽

Special Educators ◽

Education Professionals ◽

Narrative Study ◽

Special Education Professionals

This modified narrative study is an exploration of the perceptions of two special educators who experienced thedramatic changes in the New Orleans public school system as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The participants in thisstudy will consist of two special education professionals (See Table 1). From their perspectives, the reader shall gaina deeper understanding of how the educational system has evolved from its pre-Katrina structure.

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Two Models of Teacher Accountability: Toward an Explanation for the Disappointing Results of Some Market-Based School Reforms

Administration & Society ◽

10.1177/0095399715602732 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 50 (10) ◽

pp. 1365-1395

Author(s):

Lenahan O’Connell ◽

Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

School Choice ◽

School Reform ◽

School Reforms ◽

The Public ◽

The Social ◽

Full Explanation ◽

Teacher Work ◽

Applied Social Science ◽

And Performance

Accountability is a pivotal concern of applied social science. This article asserts that in many situations a full explanation of the sources of accountability requires the application of concepts from sociology and management science, in addition to those from the market-based approaches inspired by economics. The article describes the market-based approach to accountability exemplified by agency theory, applies it to school reform and derives several predictions about the likely success of market-based approaches to school reform, and documents the lack of evidence supporting the contention that programs for school choice will markedly improve teacher work effort and performance (as measured by student test scores). The social actor approach, rooted in sociological and management theories, is introduced and used to describe the pressures and norms operating in the public schools that foster accountability even in the absence of competition between schools for students. The article concludes with some implications for practice and research on public sector accountability.

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