{"id":11498,"date":"2019-12-30T09:07:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T15:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gnof.org\/?p=11498"},"modified":"2020-01-14T09:29:30","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T15:29:30","slug":"in-the-news-many-of-these-high-priority-needs-are-not-being-met-at-new-orleans-schools-report-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/gnof\/in-the-news-many-of-these-high-priority-needs-are-not-being-met-at-new-orleans-schools-report-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"In the News: Many of these high-priority needs are not being met at New Orleans schools, report finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

From “Many of these high-priority needs are not being met at New Orleans schools, report find”<\/a><\/p>\n

by Katy Reckdahl | December 25, 2019 |\u00a0nola.com<\/p>\n

In 2018, as the city\u2019s system of charter schools transitioned from state control to the oversight of the Orleans Parish School Board, the Greater New Orleans Foundation sat down with school and philanthropic leaders. The idea was to look closely at the newly unified system in an effort to determine what stood in the way of every student succeeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize that there\u2019s a long-term impact of racially inequitable policies, both inside and outside of schools, that is the background to all the challenges that we face currently,\u201d said Andy Kopplin, president and CEO of the foundation.<\/p>\n

The fledgling partnership this week released the result of a yearlong needs analysis, called “New Orleans School Partnership Study: What Our Students Need and How We Can Help.” The report outlines how historical and current-day racism and inequities leave some schools and communities better able to address students’ needs than others.<\/p>\n

It comes at a time when many are asking questions about the success of the charter school revolution launched locally in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.<\/p>\n

Nearly half of the city\u2019s 72 charter schools scored either a D or an F grade in the most recent school performance scores from the state. Despite a slight increase in overall school performance, students’ test scores largely have stayed level for three years, after several years of increases.<\/p>\n

To create the new report, the partnership \u2014 made up of NOLA Public Schools, the Greater New Orleans Foundation\u00a0and two philanthropic partners, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Baptist Community Ministries \u2014 sought to determine what students need and whether New Orleans has the resources to meet those needs. They hired researchers to collect data and to survey school and nonprofit leaders, students and parents.<\/p>\n

They found that many high-priority needs are not being met. In particular, the demand for trauma counseling and mental-health services far outstrips their availability citywide. The analysis also found that students learning English need more help to perform on grade level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like, you know, a blinking red light \u2014 that students with special needs require additional services that are not available,\u201d Kopplin said.<\/p>\n

School leaders identified mental-health and behavioral services as \u201cthe most pressing need\u201d not currently being met.<\/p>\n

According to the analysis, existing community organizations can provide:<\/p>\n