Giving Compass' Take:

• Daniel Johnson reports that the Orleans Parish School board voted to make the first all charter school system, sparking outrage from parents who have seen no choice in charters. 

• How can charter schools be better held accountable for student outcomes? Is their real choice in an all charter school district? 

• Find out why charter school donors may want to fund an independent evaluation organization. 

According to Nola.com, the Orleans Parish School board voted 5-2 to establish InspireNOLA Charter Schools as the operator of McDonough 35 Senior High School, which was established in 1917 as the first Black public school in New Orleans. This vote makes New Orleans the first major city in America with a charter school exclusive school system, but the measure is not popular among the residents of Orleans Parish who spoke out against the passage of this vote at the community meeting.

According to Big Easy Magazine, community members like Alexander LaForge, who is the parent of an elementary school child enrolled at Nelson Elementary School, are not happy with the school board’s choice to make the school system charter school only. LaForge told the magazine, “The word choice is the operative word in the organization of charter school systems. That has been negated. That is no longer there. There is no choice. Parents are in an uproar. Parents are concerned, as they should be because parents know the value of an education.” He added, “We’ve elected Orleans Parish School Board, and we’ve invested our trust in them to hope they would stand for a good cause, and represent us well. That is just not the case… I give to you the word accountability. There is none.”

Read the full article about the New Orleans school system by Daniel Johnson at The Black Youth Project.