More change ahead for New Orleans public schools 20 years after Katrina

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

70 New Orleans schools now operate as charters; none receive failing grades.

Standardized test scores and graduation rates have improved post-Katrina.

Enrollment declines and funding gaps raise concerns over future closures.

Hurricane Katrina prompted the wholesale move of New Orleans’ public schools to an all-charter system, though seeds for the dramatic overhaul were sown at least two years before the 2005 catastrophe.

Before the storm, 60% of New Orleans schools earned a “F” grade on their state school performance scores. Today, there are no failing schools in the city. System and school leaders also point to improvements in standardized test results and graduation rates as validation for their autonomy from a traditional, centralized school district.

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