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This report is created by Ken Ducote and Rose Drill-Peterson on behalf of the Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools 

 

The first of two Community Meetings this week for public input on the future of the John McDonogh Senior High School Building was held on Wednesday, October 8. The meetings are being convened by the Ad Hoc Committee including representatives of the Orleans Parish School Board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Recovery School District, and the John McDonogh Steering Committee. The meetings are held at the McDonogh 35 High School Auditorium,1331 Kerlerec Street, for videotaping. 

The next meeting will be held on Saturday, October 11, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will consist mostly of Facilitated Group Sessions.

 

OPSBrief has summarized the October 8 meeting's activities below. The complete agenda and OPSB and BESE resolutions relating to the purpose of the meetings can be read here.


 

***This email is created by Ken Ducote and Rose Drill-Peterson on behalf of the Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools and is not an official correspondence from the Orleans Parish School Board***
REPORT FROM OCTOBER 8 JOHN MCDONOGH COMMUNITY MEETING

Ad Hoc Committee - Community Meeting - Oct. 8, 2014

  • Welcome and purpose
    • Ad Hoc Committee Co-Chairs
      • From OPSB - Ira Thomas, OPSB Member
      • From McDonogh HS Steering Committee - Brenda Square
  • Conversation framework
    • Bill Rouselle of Bright Moments, LLC
    • Review of OPSB and BESE resolutions
  • Historical review of McDonogh HS facility
  • John McDonogh HS post-Katrina history
    • Brenda Square, John McDonogh Steering Committee
    • Expressed concerns of school's supporters
      • Students, parents, community have taken upon themselves to engage RSD for school's betterment since Katrina
      • Steering Committee seeks stability, school restoration and academic quality
      • Feelings of betrayal and distrust from broken RSD promises
      • Did not appreciate RSD offer to renovate school only if community accepted RSD's charter
      • Not satisfied with how school operated as RSD direct-run
      • Very unsatisfied with how school operated under RSD charter (FINS)
        • Charter used national reality TV show to malign students and school
  • Current and projected enrollment data and high school facility use
  • Community input - open forum
    • John McDonogh Steering Committee presented its written recommendations
      • Reconstruction of facility
      • Community engagement
      • Quality OPSB-controlled traditional high school
      • Quality and accredited academic programs
    • Written comments cards were distributed and collected at the end of the meeting
    • Fourteen speakers gave oral comments as summarized below
      • Need for vocational/career education (4 persons mentioned this)
      • Questioned data presented in OPSB/RSD presentation (4)
      • Place school back under OPSB as a high school (11)
      • Renovate the school (4)
      • Want neighborhood school (4)
      • Do not want a charter, especially run by out-of-town entrepreneurs (2)
      • Objected to the process used or process given for Ad Hoc Committee by RSD (4)
        • Concerned that using RSD's charter-facility assignment criteria favors certain outcomes
      • Many RSD charter high schools are underperforming and/or have low enrollments because parents are not choosing them (4)
        • Use that data to close those schools rather than to say a high school at John McDonogh is not needed
      • Oppose OneApp requirement as favoring RSD charters that cannot attract students otherwise (1)
      • Offended by FINS use of reality TV to malign students - causes distrust of RSD (5)
 
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Robert Reily Family Trust and the Smith/Cooper Foundation