"I had a son who served eight months in Iraq as a medic. He's a product of the public schools. His uniform had a shoulder patch of the American flag. That flag is supposed to mean something. I find myself asking if we still live in America because this isn't the America I know. The public schools are supposed to welcome every child, but my youngest son, Benjamin, couldn't find a school to take him. I couldn't even get them to provide me with any textbooks or materials to use until I can get him into a school. How can this be? Isn't education a child's right?"
Kathy Boisseau,
New Orleans parent
To: Friends of Public Education
From: The American Federation of Teachers
Date: January 30, 2007
Last week, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that at least 300 would-be students have been turned away by public school officials in New Orleans. Where will these children receive an education?
Meanwhile, federal and state officials seem to be living in a dream world. On Monday, President Bush called the federal response to rebuilding New Orleans "very robust." Some state officials in Louisiana appear all too willing to tolerate the shameful realities of public schools without enough teachers, and children with no place to learn.
As the school year began, Louisiana's largest newspaper used the word "nightmare" to describe what parents faced under the city's newly restructured school system. The director of the Southern Institute for Education and Research called it "the most balkanized school system in North America."
Through enrollment caps and selective admission standards, many of the locally operated charter and non-charter schools have long been able to turn away applicants. Now, the 17 public schools that are part of the state-run Recovery School District are doing the same. On January 17, the Times-Picayune reported:
"In an exceedingly rare move for a public school system, hundreds of children seeking spots in the city's schools have been turned away — 'wait-listed' — and told that the campuses have no room, school officials said Tuesday."
There is a truth that none of us can deny: New Orleans' public schools were deeply troubled before Katrina. Changes were needed, as was a consistent commitment to proven programs. But these recent events make a mockery of the promise — made soon after Hurricane Katrina — that a state takeover of New Orleans' public schools would create a "new birth of excellence and opportunity" for children.
State officials should be held to their words. They should not be allowed to abdicate one of the most fundamental responsibilities of government: to provide a free, public education. Voucher programs, even if they are labeled "scholarships," are an abdication of this responsibility.
And why aren't all publicly funded schools being held to the same high standards? Last week, a number of teacher recruitment ads appeared on several websites, including Job.net and Idealist.org <http://Idealist.org> . These ads, sponsored by a charter-school group called teachNOLA, included a disclaimer that is very disturbing:
"Certified teachers will teach in charter schools, and non-certified teachers will teach in the state-run Recovery School District."
Why are non-certified teachers being directed to the state-run Recovery School District schools?
The AFT is deeply concerned, as are others who care about what is happening to the families and children of New Orleans. If you're as shocked and dismayed as we are by these recent developments, we urge you to take action. Here's what you can do:
Get the Word Out:
Please circulate the information in this letter to your leaders, staff, members and activists across the country. Let them know that this Web link ( http://www.aft.org/topics/neworleans will take them to a special resource page that provides background, reports and other insights into what is really happening in New Orleans. Please urge them to contact Louisiana's senators, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter. Tell Senators Landrieu and Vitter that the situation in New Orleans is unacceptable. Tell them that it is time to put ideology aside and work with parents, teachers and community leaders to ensure that never again will the city's children be turned away from a public school.
Recognize the Rhetoric:
Some right-wing, anti-public school groups are circulating inaccurate or incomplete information that glosses over the ugly realities of the post-Katrina public schools in New Orleans. Even people who should know better seem to be adopting this spin.
