Schools - Ten Years Later

I confess that I can't possibly summarize the New Orleans education reform movement that has taken place since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city schools. But suffice it to say, the movement is unlike what anyone might have envisioned.

Essentially, the children of NOLA now attend private, parochial or charter schools. In reality, the neighborhood schools are dead.

Resentment still abounds when 7,000 teachers were let go right after the hurricane unleashed its fury. That was just the beginning. Resources were sparse (understandable) and the RSD system took over control of a good portion of the schools often to the dismay and chagrin of many.

Today the 'All Charter' movement buses students from one part of the city to another. The number of students displaced from their neighborhood often results in 10 to 12 hours days for the kids according to Salon.com. This typically means that parents are not a real and meaningful force in the education setting of their kids.

This situation, administratively, finds that the African American population - 60% to 65% make up the student enrollment - has no representation within this education hierarchy.

This displacement of children and exclusion of the students and parents from their 'community school' will be a source of many problems in the years to come. The fact that thirty-nine percent of children remain in poverty will simply exacerbate the issues.

What a shame.

Dick