Education Desk

In New Orleans and nationally, many schools have adopted a no-excuses model. They enforce strict rules and suspend students at high rates.

In a new article out this week in the Atlantic and Hechinger Report, reporter Sarah Carr looks at the push back against no-excuses discipline. She profiles several local charter schools, including Carver Collegiate, New Orleans College Prep, and KIPP Renaissance.

As New Orleans continues to reshape public education, WWNO seeks to highlight teachers who bring unique talents and perspectives to their work. We feature one such educator each month.

The education system in Louisiana has undergone a major transformation. But until recently, most of the changes were aimed at grades K-12. Now the focus is turning to early childhood. Thanks to Act 3, or the Early Childhood Education Act, Pre-K and early child care programs across the state are getting revamped this fall.

WWNO's Mallory Falk spoke about the revamp with Melanie Bronfin, Executive Director of the Policy Institute for Children. Bronfin says the changes were partly prompted by new research on child brain development.

It's only November, but some students and families are already thinking about the next school year. That's because OneApp – the city's school enrollment process – launched today. Students entering the public school system for the first time or hoping to transfer to a new school can review their options and submit one application with their top choices.

Nine years after Katrina, schools are still being renovated and rebuilt. John Dibert Community School moved into a brand new building this fall. The school held an open house over the weekend, to show off the new facility and recruit families.

The open house started with a second line and closed out with a special performance: first graders singing "What a Wonderful World."

As New Orleans continues to reshape public education, WWNO seeks to highlight teachers who bring unique talents and perspectives to their work. We feature one such educator each month.

Pablo Garcia teaches standard first grade concepts: addition, subtraction, the water cycle. But he does everything in Spanish. Garcia is an immersion instructor at the International School of Louisiana.

Support for Voices of Educators and education news on WWNO comes from Entergy Corporation.