Louisiana Recovery School District RSD

NEW ORLEANS, LA (April 14, 2015) - Today, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved the return of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School to the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). This marked the first time that a charter school organization in Louisiana has exited the Recovery School District (RSD) after sustaining significant improvement in academic performance. King Charter School will operate under OPSB governance as a Type 3b charter for an initial term of seven years.

 

Under state law and BESE policy, Type 5 charter schools may elect to return to the governance of the local school board after at least five years with the RSD and two consecutive years with a School Performance Score (SPS) of 54.0 or higher. Friends of King, the non-profit board that operates King Charter School, voted to return to OPSB in December of 2014. The school had met the required performance standards, attaining an SPS of 85.5 in 2014 for a letter grade of B.

 

All RSD schools that return to local control are required to maintain some practices common to all RSD schools, particularly ones that ensure a fair, equitable, and transparent enrollment process for students and families. As a returning school, King Charter School will participate in centralized enrollment and expulsion through EnrollNOLA. King students will continue to have access to free transportation to and from school.

 

"We are excited to welcome King Charter School back to the OPSB as a charter school," said OPSB Superintendent Henderson Lewis. "Since 2005, we have developed comprehensive systems and policies to ensure that our charter schools are well-supported and we are confident that King will be continue its stellar academic growth under our governance." 

The RSD was created by state legislation passed in 2003 as an entity that could transform persistently low-performing schools operated by local school districts. After Hurricane Katrina, the Legislature gave the RSD control of more than 100 New Orleans public schools due to their historically poor performance. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School for Science and Technology was brought under RSD governance and later opened as a charter school in August 2006.

 

"King Charter School offers us proof that the RSD model for school turnaround works. The RSD gave King's administrators and educators autonomy while maintaining high standards for accountability, and their academic performance soared," said Patrick Dobard, Superintendent of the RSD. "We look forward to working with OPSB to ensure that our schools citywide continue their upward trajectory and commitment to serving all young people, whatever their governance." 

 

 

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