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To provide our readers a comprehensive look at the school-takeover model Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal is based on, the AJC’s Jaime Sarrio went to New Orleans last month and talked to principals, teachers, parents, advocates and opponents about successes and problems in the Recovery School District there. Then, last week while Deal and Georgia lawmakers visited New Orleans, she went where they didn’t, to Baton Rouge, where the results have been poorer and the challenges could be more similar to those Georgia would face under the governor’s proposal.
Read the AJC's comprehensive look at what Louisiana's Recovery School District achieved and didn't achieve in New Orleans, as well as in-depth coverage of Gov. Nathan Deal's proposal for failing schools in Georgia, on myajc.com.
For Georgia and other states looking to take over failing schools, the revolving door of oversight at Lanier Elementary may foreshadow the messy work ahead.
The aging school was run by the local school board until 2009 when the state seized control after years of academic failure. Louisiana handed Lanier to a charter organization and watched for dramatic improvements. They never came. Control of the school went back to the state in 2012, and Louisiana officials ran it until 2014 when a new charter group was handed the keys.
In case you’ve lost count, that’s four operators in five years — each with the power to change principals, teachers and the curriculum. A handful of other failing Baton Rouge schools followed a similar path after being placed in Louisiana’s state-run Recovery School District.
Georgia lawmakers are considering creation of a similar state-run "Opportunity School District" based on the success of the Recovery District's work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. But rescuing failing schools in Baton Rouge created a different set of challenges that may be a better indicator of what Georgians will see if legislation is approved.
"It's amazing to me this is going on in these red states because this is big government at its absolute worst," said East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Bernard Taylor. "It takes schools from individual communities, puts them in this big mix and there is supposed to be some magic formula that's supposed to fix them, but I have yet to see that happen."
Like Louisiana, Georgia would take control of failing schools in districts all across the state, close them, and partner with local school districts to run them or convert them into charter schools. A superintendent reporting directly to the governor would oversee them.
The model has produced notable academic gains in New Orleans, where the state took control of most schools and allowed charters to sprout up, not always in the same place or serving the same students. A group of lawmakers joined Gov. Nathan Deal there last week to tour schools and hear about the unique approach.
But in Baton Rouge, which lawmakers didn’t visit, the state has faced several challenges Georgia may also encounter. Rather than starting new schools, educators took on the task of turning around existing schools, which experts say is more difficult. Relations with the traditional school system have been tense, which Louisiana leaders warned the Georgia legislators to be prepared for. And there was no catastrophic storm or huge philanthropic push propelling Baton Rouge’s makeover.
The differences can also be seen in academic results. ACT scores have climbed in New Orleans but fallen during the same period in state-run schools outside the Big Easy. Since 2009, the percentage of students passing state exams has jumped 20 points in New Orleans but only nine points in state-run schools outside the city. Both still trail the state average.
Recovery School District officials have been candid about the troubles in Baton Rouge, saying the state didn’t do a good job selecting charter school providers to run the schools. Some leaders say the state rushed in to seize the schools without a firm plan. The state stepped in to “stabilize” the schools and said last year new, higher-quality charter school operators took over the cluster of schools.
“What hasn’t worked well is the quality of charter providers outside of New Orleans. They were not able to recruit the talent to manage schools as well as we were in New Orleans,” said Patrick Dobard, superintendent of the Recovery School District. “The lesson learned was if you have a very strong pipeline of great leaders you can launch schools and the sustainability is much more probable.”
Recovery School District officials say they look for charter operators with demonstrated success at serving a similar school population, as well as a group with strong leadership and a well-developed board.
Dobard and other supporters of the Recovery School District say the challenges in Baton Rouge aren’t reasons to shy away from the approach.
Baton Rouge has enjoyed philanthropic and developmental support. The statewide district has been able to influence change to other low-performing schools without taking them over. In one rural Louisiana community, the state persuaded a district to close a failing school and merge students into a nearby one that was doing better. The state didn’t have that kind of muscle before the Recovery District, he said.
At Lanier Elementary, now known as Celerity Lanier Charter, school leaders say they're already seeing gains. The school, which is run by an established charter organization, has introduced chess, fine arts and an emphasis on technology. The school increased its enrollment by about 100 students and plans to expand to include eighth grade in the years to come.
Celerity school leaders said Baton Rouge will be the proof point of whether the takeover model can be replicated, and they believe it will be a success. The Georgia Senate is expected to vote on Opportunity School District legislation today and if approved, it will move to the House.
“Kids are kids regardless,” said Celerity Principal Alicia Franklin. “At the end of the day, every parent wants the best education for their child. If you can communicate the why and the how and show them you mean what you say, you will be successful.”
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