ABOUT THE RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Recovery School District’s mission in New Orleans is to create a world-class public education system, in which every decision focuses on the best interests of the children. While Hurricane Katrina brought unprecedented destruction to New Orleans, it also provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn once-failing schools into successfu schools. RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas is implementing sweeping district-wide reforms in New Orleans, duplicating many of the initiatives that turned the school systems of Philadelphia and Chicago into nationally recognized models for education reform. Vallas' reforms promise to create safer schools, better-trained teachers, a unified curriculum, supplemental educational services to help improve student achievement and more support for students with special.
The Recovery School, created by legislation passed in 2003, is a special school district administered by the Louisiana Department of Education. Before Hurricane Katrina, five schools in the New Orleans had been transferred into the RSD. Following the storm, state lawmakers transferred 107 additional schools in New Orleans – many of them heavily damaged or destroyed – into the RSD.
To date, the district has opened 60 schools, including 26 RSD charter schools, with an enrollment of approximately 23,000 students. The rebuilding effort is happening on two fronts: While working to create schools the New Orleans community can be proud of, the district is also working to repair and rebuild structures damaged by the storm or that suffered from years of neglect. The RSD has announced a Quick Start Program that will result in the construction and renovation of five schools in New Orleans over the next two years and, with the New Orleans Public School System, has embarked on a comprehensive master plan that will provide a blueprint to guide future renovations and new school construction in Orleans Parish.
The Recovery School District is serving the children of Hurricane Katrina, who, even two years after the storm, continue to cope with the traumatic effects of disaster and loss. The district continues to enroll students whose families are returning to live in New Orleans for the first time since Katrina. Many of these children, already significantly behind academically, have missed weeks or months of school.
Source: New Orleans Recovery School District
DONATE TO THE RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT VICTORY FUND.
