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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 OPSB-RSD Unification Advisory Committee, created by Act 91of the 2016 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, will assist in the development of the Unification Transition Plan. The Committee held its initial meeting on Wednesday,
June 1, 2016, at McDonogh 35 High School Auditorium.

The posted agenda can be found here.

OPSBrief/RSDigest has summarized the agenda below and provided links to background information.

***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 OPSB, RSD, BESE, nor any other state agency. Published in part with funding from the Robert Reily Family Trust.***

REPORT ON UNIFICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING 
  • Presentation: Act 91 and Unification Plan Development
    • Heard and discussed a report by Superintendents Henderson Lewis and Patrick Dobard 
    • OPSB's vision for a unified system of autonomous public schools
      • School system becomes a system of schools
      • Top performing urban public school system in US
      • Equity and fairness for all students
      • Model of financial efficiency and responsible fiscal stewardship
      • Parental choice
      • Diverse and autonomous schools
    • Provisions of Act 91 and role and responsibilities of Unification Advisory Committee (UAC)
      • Maintains elements of governance that led to improvement
      • Unifies 24 OSPB and 52 RSD schools
      • Overview of plan development
      • Advisory Committee by statue includes two superintendents and 11 representatives of charter operators and key education advocacy organizations
        • Provides technical expertise and support to OPSB Superintendent
        • Venue for community input and feedback
        • Assist in implementation
    • Task Force on School Utilization
      • More than 100 community leaders to be engaged in the process to be named
      • Working groups in four areas
      • Accountability, authorization and planning
      • Facilities
      • System-level services and resources
      • Transparency and community responsiveness
      • Later support in implementation
    • Timeline for Unification Transition Plan development
      • Must be submitted to OPSB for approval by September 1, 2016
      • Task Force Working Groups: June 6th - June 24th
      • Advisory Committee Meeting #2: July 14th
      • Community Review Meetings / Parent & Educator Focus Groups: July 21st - August 11th
      • Advisory Committee Meeting # 3: August 11th
      • Task Force Working Groups: August 12th - August 24th
      • Advisory Committee Meeting # 4: August 25th
      • OPSB Superintendent Present Transition Plan to OPSB: August 30th
    • Community Engagement
      • Participants
        • Charter boards and CMO leaders
        • Educators
        • Parents
          Community members at-large
        • Online feedback via portal on OPSB website (www.opsb.us)
        • Office hours with Executive Team: TBA & posted on website
        • Draft Plan will be posted on website
  • Public Comment
    • One person stated that she did not recognize the legitimacy of the Committee because she considered its creation by Act 91 to be unconstitutional and she did not want charter schools and instead wanted neighborhood schools