Where we go from here

Through Stand for Children’s efforts to help parents to advocate for their children’s educational success, I have had the great privilege of getting to know hardworking parents all across the country with inspiring stories. Reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and how it profoundly affected the New Orleans’ public school system, I wanted to share with you the story of Roshand Miller, a proud mother of three school-age children who… Read More

In Praise of My City, and My Students: One New Orleans Educator Marvels Over a Decade of Progress.

August 29, 2005 is a date I will remember for the rest of my life. I personally lost a lot, but also discovered a new sense of resilience and determination. Just two days earlier, I was one of 100 Edna Karr High School coaches and students who were huddled together in New Orleans, learning that our first football game of the season would be canceled due to a storm in the Gulf… Read More

Here’s What I Want to See in the #Next10: Schools That Live in the Reality of the Children We Hope to Educate

I was asked a question, a very good question the other day. The question was “What do you want to see in the next 10 years regarding education in New Orleans?” The answer is very simple yet very complex. What I need to see is a foundation that listens to the people who are actually impacted. I want to see schools that are modern with up-to-date pools, gyms with up-to-date equipment, laboratories,… Read More

This Edna Karr Graduate Learned to Persevere From New Orleans Teachers and Schools

My name is Jabari Walters and I am a recent New Orleans high school graduate, soon to be LSU undergrad. For most of my life, I never thought I would leave New Orleans or go to college. But my teachers saw things in me that I never saw in myself. With their help, I learned what it means to persevere. I am the fourth of five children in my family that grew… Read More

Building a Movement for Black Male Achievement

This weekend distinguished gentleman wearing crimson and cream will flood the streets of The Crescent City as the New Orleans Alumni chapter welcomes the 82nd Grand Chapter Conclave Celebration of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. The weekend kicked off with what David Johns, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans called the most important conversation of the weekend. While others called it, One of the most relevant… Read More

All parents want our children to succeed; we want to give them every opportunity…

It is my sincere belief that as parents we are our children’s first teachers.  In that space, it is our job to intimately know what academic setting would garner the most success for them and as parents we are empowered to make that choice.  We must be an advocate, by researching, finding and guiding them through that avenue. I am the mother of four very different vivacious spirits that engage and understand… Read More

Dr. Howard Fuller speaks on the New Orleans success story

Campbell Brown, Editor-in-Chief of The Seventy Four, recently interviewed Dr. Howard Fuller on the state of the education reform movement in New Orleans and nationally. In this conversation Dr. Fuller— a civil rights activist and champion for the people of New Orleans, spoke candidly about education reform in New Orleans and the need to empower the communities most impacted by reform efforts over the past 10 years. The titillating yet unnerving conversation… Read More

Imagining a World 

The Contemporary Art Center’s Summer Arts Camp is a place where children come to learn and experiment and try new things in the realm of visual art, culinary, dance, theatre, film, and music. This summer’s theme is “Imagining a World.” On the third floor is the visual arts classroom. The door is giant and white, like a heavenly gate propped open just for us, just for the children, and just for art…. Read More