Special School District

Launched in 2003, the Recovery School District is guided by one question: What will it take to get every student on track to graduate from college or attain a professional career? In response to that question, the RSD transforms schools that for years have not put enough students on the path to career and college by identifying top school leaders and teachers to operate the schools, by giving them the freedom to educate children as they know best, and by giving parents the power to choose the schools that are best for their children. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the RSD applied this strategy to struggling schools throughout New Orleans, where student achievement in many schools was lagging. Most New Orleans public schools are now charter public schools for this reason. Charter school educators are empowered to teach; parents are empowered to choose their school; principals set their own budgets so that more money gets to the classroom; community members form boards that oversee schools; and the district’s central office, which is not close to the parents, the teachers, or the children, monitors schools but does not tell parents and teachers how to educate their children. Empowered schools flourish. Rather than focusing on mandates from bureaucrats, teachers and parents work together to get all kids through college or into professional careers. In the schools, this has meant rigorous curriculum, ambitious expectations, and lots of hard work. It also means arts and music, field trips, home visits, and close relationships between teachers and students. The RSD exists to transform struggling schools into great schools because that is what it will take for every student in New Orleans to be on track to graduate from college or to attain a professional career.