Culture
The Student-Led Backlash Against New Orleans's Charter Schools
Late last year, students at several of the city's high-performing charters staged large-scale protests. Why?
Collegiate Academies is seen by many as the crown jewel of the New Orleans charter school system, which is itself believed to be a national model for urban education. The charter operator’s flagship school, Sci Academy, boasts the best test scores of any open-enrollment high school in the city’s Recovery School District. In 2010, Oprah cut the school a $1 million check.
But this past November, a chain of events started that calls into question whether Collegiate Academies—and other New Orleans charters with similar models—will be able to maintain their success long-term.