Our frequent contributor Mercedes Schneider sent the following news in response to a post about Bobby Jindal selling the New Orleans miracle in Virginia:

 

 

From Mary K. Bellisario, VP of St. Tammany Parish School Board (Louisiana) :

The Associated Press at least printed some of the truth about the RSD:

“However, New Orleans schools run by the Recovery School District still have a D grade on average while those outside of New Orleans received an F in the latest round of grades released in October.”

They didn’t print what the School Performance Score (SPS) for the RSD is, or how many schools in the RSD aren’t even reporting their scores because they’re in the re-chartering process due to academic failure. They don’t have to report for three years. This could take that RSD average even lower.

Too bad the AP didn’t go further and print that the RSD — in N.O. and in other parts of the state — still ranks last out of 70 school districts in our state, where they have ranked for the past seven years. This would have put Jindal’s remarks more in perspective.

Last year’s stats show that out of 70 districts only two–the RSD run by BESE, and St. Helena partially run by BESE–were actually “failing” districts. Their reported SPS’s didn’t reach the passing grade.

Last year every other school district in the state — run by locally elected school boards, not BESE — was above “failing.”

But Virginia and other states will not be told that.