Mercedes Schneider attempts to explain here how school choice works in New Orleans.
It is complicated, confusing, and messy.
More often than not, the schools choose, not the parents.
More often than not, students leaving a “failed” and closing school may “choose” to go to another F-rated school.
The one choice that is not available is the choice of a neighborhood school. They don’t exist any more.
When you try to follow the ins and outs of choice, you begin to believe that you need to hire a facilitator to help you maneuver the process.
Choice is not for the weak, the weary, or the impatient.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Has anyone ever considered how much choice “school choice” would provide? How many schools can be within a reasonable distance from where anyone lives. A few grade schools, one or two high schools would be average. So, whatever choice is provided it is very, very limited.
Add on top of that that four out of every five start-up business fail withing the first five years (Hey, this is the “Business Model,” not mine!) and you have the scenarios we see playing out now. What happens when a “choice” school closes it’s doors? Mid-year? Where do the students go? Do they get their voucher back to try another school? Is there another school?
The lack of logic here is stunning.
I had a comment on my blog from someone with an Orleans Parish School Board email address. In her comment she rebukes me for the “mess” that is my post and asserts that it is “full of errors.”
She provided no proof for her accusation. I asked her to do so.
She sugggested that I have not spoken to anyone who works in public education in New Orleans. Not true:
Plus, I simply (I use the word tongue-in-cheek) followed the Round Three OneApp process while adding documentation on both RSD and OPSB history.
I must have it all wrong. New Orleans schools– all of them, both RSD and OPSB– must really be just fine. School choice must be working like a well-oiled machine. All of the evidence in my article links, well, that just proves my ignorance.
Before my state received a NCLB waiver, I was offered two alternative schools with absolute test scores worse than my base school, but they passed with “safe harbors”. I declined and lamented the fact that so much paper and money was wasted sending these letters and pages of meaningless test score data.
School Choice in New Orleans has created an environment for the “haves” and “have-nots,” and has complicated an already chaotic mess in schooling and education. The politicians and supporters of school-choice and the charter school movement in the city will have you believe that New Orleans is at the forefront and “the model” for education reform across the U.S. As an educator with 30 years of experience in various parts of the country, one can see through the propaganda and see the real misfortune of the New Orleans education system.
Wow. What a process. I was nervous just reading this article, trying to follow the procedure, and already feeling bad for parents I don’t know, trying to get a decent education for their kids. Here in Las Vegas, my 14 year old is upset this summer, knowing that most of her friends are scattering, trying to avoid our neighborhood high school with its low rating (mostly due to high ELL population and low test scores common in most high schools here) and going to magnet schools, technical schools, or other schools their parents have had to lie to get them into via a zoning variance. I am sick of these so-called options that aren’t real choices for most parents. My daughter declined the magnet option here, because it meant a lottery plus hours on a bus as there are no good choices close to home. I have been upset about this emphasis on ratings instead of making sure every community has a decent school. But New Orleans’ system is far worse than ours, and the students and parents there have my sympathy and outrage. This is ludicrous, Kafkaesque.
Just when I was starting to gain a wee tiny modicum of respect for John Merrow for his recent exposure of Michelle Rhee, here he comes again promoting the “miracle” of the New Orleans charter schools, while knowingly suppressing unfavorable information.
But guess what? Poverty is THEIR fault, not anyone else’s. At least if you believe this article. By the way, I don’t agree with it or the comments I just made, so please don’t freak out!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/daily-habits-of-wealthy-people-143505884.html;_ylt=Ag._G7T9ObodMCFhQbBVqCBD6odG;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1cmtyNHNvBG1pdANDeFMgRmluYW5jaWFsbHkgRml0IEh1YiBWaWRlbyBNZXRhIERhdGEgQ0EgRGVzY3JpcHRpb24gUHJvZARwb3MDMQRzZWMDTWVkaWFWaWRlb01ldGFEYXRhQ0E-;_ylg=X3oDMTJpbWhibHUxBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDM2ZmYzc5MjAtNTVkMi0xMWUyLWJiYjctYTRkOGNkODFlNDc5BHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3
That was nauseating. Thanks, it helps with my diet.
Considering how nauseating what they are doing there you should be to ideal weight by now Dienne. How has this gone on this long? Like no one knows? Like they did not have the plan in the can before Katrina? Let us hope that Badass Teachers is not astroturf and the people on this blog continue to write with what is going on. All these issues are everywhere caused by the same people. We just won Measure J against the wealthiest by joining together those no one ever thought would happen. For instance, who would ever think that Beverly Hills would join with the African-American community on Crenshaw and the Hispanic community and many others. No one. We made that happen as we are all fighting the same devil. We all have the same devils here also. They are huge and have so much cash on hand. All we have is the numbers and our smarts and working the system better than they do. If you know what you are doing this can be and has been done. First, you must believe you can legally do it. No other way works. Otherwise there is no firm foundation on which to build that will be credible. It is still hardball though.
I’m tellin ya, it’s like giving up city buses for publicly funded, privately run car services. It will not work.
For the past four years, my children have attended an elementary school in a well-heeled district in Northwest Connecticut. Most parents in this district are angry about the poor quality of classroom instruction. Most parents don’t pay attention to standardized tests, even though the district’s CMT scores are declining. We simply see that our children are not being taught basic skills. We rightly conclude that our children are not being offered the education that they deserve, even though our school system’s financial resources are ample.
After my children’s awful experience in a public school system where students are well-prepared to learn but the teachers are ill-prepared to teach, I conclude that total voucherization of the public school system is in order. The process in New Orleans may be complicated by the fact that there are few (if any) good public schools to choose from. Here in Northwest Connecticut, we have some pretty good public schools in adjacent districts where I would be delighted to send my children. In the absence of school vouchers, my only good alternative is to home school.
So, I have to ask, as a New Orleans educator, with a Master’s degree in Education from Teachers College, who has discussed this regularly:
What else would you do?
Schools in New Orleans were abysmal prior to the state takeover. The OPSB was absolutely corrupt– THE FBI was running a field office out of the headquarters. Forcing kids to stay within their district lines was a death sentence. Also take into context the city’s socio-economic spectrum. The “wealthy” aren’t actually attending public schools, anyway. The sad truth is that anybody who can afford private or parochial schools does.
How is it fair for one student to attend a decent school because of where they live, while countless others are forced into failing, poorly maintained schools by the same rule?School Choice in New Orleans was put in place by Vallas (again, I’m not necessarily a fan) to put everyone attending public schools on an equal field.
While I don’t necessarily agree with OneApp, I also don’t necessarily think that its the root of the problem. The facts tell you that schools in the city, for lack of a better word, still suck. Many are improving and doing well, some are doing exceptionally well, however, lots still aren’t. Of course people will compete for the seats in the “better” schools. Its human nature, and everybody wants the best for their child. Which is my point… at least they have the option. The truth is, there is no “right way” to enroll kids in schools without some
We can complain about how those schools are unattainable all day long, but that’s not going to change it– let’s focus on what we can change: the poor performing schools in the city that kids are being damned into going regardless of zone, district, or lottery. They need to close or be turned around, so that issue like OneApp don’t matter.