Black Male Educators of New Orleans: An Interview with Kendall McManus-Thomas

  With a bachelor’s degree in chemistry education and a master’s in educational Leadership, 26-year-old Kendall McManus-Thomas is a promising young educator. He teaches high school chemistry at his alma mater, Warren Easton Charter School, as a way to open doors for students and to inspire them to pursue careers in medicine and technology. For Kendall, the spark started in 2005 when as a junior in high school, he was displaced by… Read More

Bridging the Gap: The Parent Perspective

Children learn from their parents by seeing, hearing and doing. As the last blog talked about the child’s perspective with Erikka, it’s now time to hear from the parents who entrust our children daily with educators. How can we ensure that the gap between home and school begins to come together? Speaking from the parent side of the equation I can’t help but do all I can to get this process front… Read More

THE QUESTION OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

A usually rhythmically eloquent President Barack Obama did all but stutter in his response to a question posed by a Southern University student during his recent visit to Baton Rouge. The student was hoping the President could offer him some advice on what to say to the Black high school students reluctant to attend an HBCU because they feared the experiences and degrees won’t offer them as much opportunity (read potential employment… Read More

Let’s Listen to Students, Not Exclude Them

  When it comes to education, why don’t students have a voice? The children of New Orleans have gone through so much in the ten years since Hurricane Katrina devastated our city. Schools vanished and underwent shifts in bureaucratic controls. A school-grading system closes some schools down and brings new leadership to others, sometimes before the year is even over. A girl I’ll call Erikka, who attends a local school, says that… Read More

The True Understanding of What We’re Fighting For

  Does anyone truly know what we are fighting for? This is a really important question to ask yourself daily. If not only educators and leaders, but also parents and guardians asked themselves regularly, then our children would always be the first priority. No matter what your position is, children should always be the first thing you fight for. Our children need to know they’re worth fighting for. It takes more than… Read More

12 Recovery schools vote against returning to New Orleans system

A dozen Louisiana Recovery School District charter schools in New Orleans have opted to stay in the state system for another year, instead of transferring back to Orleans Parish control. The boards of Crescent City Schools, E.P. Harney, FirstLine, ReNEW and Sophie B. Wright have voted so far, Orleans officials said Wednesday (Feb. 3). Overall, 33 schools are eligible to return this year. After Hurricane Katrina, state lawmakers directed the Recovery School District to take over 80 percent of New… Read More

Fraud in testing, special education found at ReNEW charter school

Last week nola.com reported that the former principals of ReNEW SciTech Academy in Uptown New Orleans were accused Friday (Jan. 29) of special education fraud, failing to follow federal special education law and breaking state testing rules. Louisiana Recovery School District officials said the principals, Tim Hearin and Alex Perez, snagged almost $320,000 in public money for the school in the 2014-15 academic year by artificially inflating special education services. They also broke numerous test security… Read More