KIPP New Orleans plans for Baton Rouge expansion

In addition to the two new schools KIPP New Orleans plans to add to its portfolio of seven in the city, the charter-school network has been cleared for an additional high school in New Orleans plus seven other schools here or in Baton Rouge — part of a trend of charters expanding from New Orleans around Louisiana, reports Jessica Williams of The Lens. Firstline Schools, which operates Samuel J. Green Charter and four other campuses, has also been cleared for a sixth school in New Orleans.

Reports show disparities in quality, openness of Uptown schools

Uptown schools vary widely in both the quality of their instruction and their openness to the public, according to a pair of reports released this week. Schools run by the Recovery School District in Baton Rouge – originally designed to take over the state’s worst-performing schools, and the governing body of many New Orleans schools since Hurricane Katrina – still show far worse results than those run locally in Orleans Parish, according to results released by the state Department of Education and compiled for the New Orleans area by the Times-Picayune. Uptown schools run directly by the Recovery School District, such as Walter Cohen High School, and even some of its charters, such as the Sojourner Truth Academy, were rated “academically unacceptable.” Uptown New Orleans is also home to some of the best schools in the city, the results show. Lusher charter schools’ five-star rating marks it as among the absolute highest-scoring in the state.