NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — What’s next for the students and faculty at a New Orleans charter school slated to close at the end of the school year?
The Orleans Parish School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to support NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Avis Williams’ recommendation to not renew the contract for the Living School, a charter school for high school students in New Orleans East.
The decision affects at least 200 students.
Living School, which is located in a strip mall on Bullard Avenue, received an “F” letter grade from the Louisiana Department of Education this past year, the lowest school performance score in New Orleans.
The score is mostly based on state standardized test scores, and according to Living School faculty, it’s not an accurate depiction of their students’ successes.
Stefin Pasternak, the CEO of Living School, says he and other educators worked with Williams on improving the Charter School Accountability Framework.
Pasternak believes Living School would have remained open under the new standards.
“So, starting next school year with the next round of renewals, all those schools will get to benefit from that work that we did to build a new [School Performance Renewal Index],” Pasternak explained. “But unfortunately, because of a fluke of timing, we didn’t get the benefit of that.”
Rahn Broady, who teaches biology and environmental science at Living School, says his students engage in peer and hands-on learning, even building a food forest.
“Learning how to make traditional medicine, learning how to identify plants, learning how to use their voice against food waste,” Broady said. “Making the content relevant has always been a strong point for me.”
Humanities teacher Katie Wills Evans says the School Performance Renewal Index doesn’t align with how the all-charter school system allows them to educate their students.
“Because at the end of the day, when you create a system, where test scores are what keeps the doors of your school open, it creates a disincentive to do anything educational or anything that supports kids that takes time and resources away from test scores,” Wills Evans said.
The school’s CEO says the students’ parents shouldn’t worry as he figures out what’s next for Living School.
“We’ll be holding community meetings with our students, staff, families and larger community of support next week to make some decisions about which options we want to pursue next, but this is not the end,” Pasternak said.
NOLA-PS will close Living School at the end of the school year and will give students “closing-school priority” during the transition process.
“These recommendations were not made lightly; they are integral to the prosperity of our scholars and the distinctive framework of our education system,” said Williams. “Our schools have dedicated significant efforts to bolster student support, and the extension and renewal processes are imperative to guarantee that our schools not only meet but exceed high standards, delivering a top-tier education to all our scholars. This is what our community rightfully deserves.”
To learn more about the charter renewal and extension processes, visit the NOLA Public Schools website.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
