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This email is created by Ken Ducote on behalf of the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools and is not an official correspondence from the RSD, BESE, nor any other state agency

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education held its quarterly Committee of the Whole Meeting on Recovery School District Matters at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, at the Arthur Ashe School Gymnasium, 1456 Gardena Drive, New Orleans 70122.

RSDigest has summarized the meeting's activities below and provided links to key back-up documents. The complete posted agenda can be accessed here.

***This email is created by Ken Ducote on behalf of the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools and is not an official correspondence from the RSD, BESE, nor any other state agency***
REPORT FROM MAY 25 BESE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE  
Superintendent's Report
  • Senior Shout-out Day - May 13, 2016 
    • Celebrated graduated seniors from OPSB and RSD schools and their post-secondary plans
      • On-time graduation rate up 2.5 % over last year
      • Over 2200 graduates will attend over 315 colleges and earned over $ 80 million in scholarships
    • Included 8th graders to provide motivation for their high school success
 
Administration and Finance - RSD Finance Issues
School Innovation and Turnaround - Standing Item - Charter School Performance, Support, and Oversight Issues

School Innovation and Turnaround - Standing Item - Recovery School District Management Issues
  • Requests from Type 5 charter schools to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Orleans Parish School Board at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 school year
    • This item was received and deferred pending completion of OPSB's negotiations on terms of return
      • Lake Area New Tech Early College High School (Grades 9-12), New Beginnings Schools
      • Pierre A. Capdau Charter School (Grades PK-8) - New Beginnings Schools
      • KIPP Renaissance High School (Grades 9-12) - KIPP New Orleans
      • Mary D. Coghill Charter School (Grades K-8) - Better Choice Foundation
  • Update report regarding legislation concerning the unification of public schools in Orleans Parish 
    • Governor signed Act 91providing for unification
    • Received report and heard presentation from RSD and OPSB Superintendents 
      • Report covered background of Act 91, highlights of the Act, process for the transition, and opportunities for public input
      • Executive Director of GNOCCS spoke in favor of the reunification
        • Said that over 80 charter schools have been working together for several years on issues like business management, facilities, grants and fundraising, curriculum and teacher recruiting
        • Said that debates over governance issues detract from the time and energy needed to improve educational outcomes given the local social conditions challenging our students
        • Disclosure - Ken Ducote, author of RSDigest
      • Two parent advocates spoke in favor of community engagement in both the unification and the OneApp processes.


 This service is made possible by support from Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools and funding from the Robert Reily Family Trust and the Smith/Cooper Foundation