BESE:  Vote YES and give our school BACK!

I worked at John McDonogh for nearly ten years prior to Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane, I returned as a school administrator for four additional years. Because of my time there, I will always be connected and concerned about the school and its community. John McDonogh has always had its challenges, but the staff and students were always determined to beat the odds and succeed. Since the hurricane, the school has struggled for its survival. It has lost its identify and has been neglected under the leadership of the Recovery School District (RSD). The RSD admitted to its failures and abandoned their mission of educating children in New Orleans.  RDS then issued a charter license to Future is Now (FIN) to operate John McDonogh. FIN stay was really short and after two years, RSD did not renew FIN’s charter and they left town. Today the school does not have a school operator and the building is vacant, slated for renovations. When it reopens, I want the local school board, Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), to operate and manage John McDonogh.  After eight years of state and charter control, they have failed to move this school forward, failed the children, and failed the community of John McDonogh and abandoned the school.  At the last Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) meeting in Baton Rouge, I requested that RSD and BESE give the school back to local control. Give it back to OPSB to manage and operate. This issue is scheduled for a vote in August. I started this petition to let BESE know that local control is best for the students of John McDonogh. I want BESE to know that the citizens of Orleans Parish and around the state want them to honor their initial promise from eight years ago when they took over the schools in New Orleans and GIVE THIS SCHOOL BACK to local control.  

I care what happens at John McDonogh because of the children and families from the neighborhood who trust that we will provide a quality education and will never run and leave town when things get tough.  It is disheartening to know and see that over the last eight years, no real investment has gone into the talents and potential of the students, school, staff and community.  I know that the students from this community need a place to support and encourage their personal and educational goals. I care that the school reopens and provide academic programs that will lead to skill employment and secondary education.   I also care that the students know, that I will never quit advocating on their behalf. My quest is to have John McDonogh Senior High School return to local control. It’s time for BESE to know that we have always cared about our schools and we want the local board to manage and operate this school once it is renovated.  During the last board meeting, I urged BESE to make it right by the students that they failed when they selected FIN as the charter operator.

If we win, our children will win. The school will rejoin its original school district that has an A for its district performance score. The students, their families and community will not have to be concerned with management changing every two years. They will not have to worry that the school will shut down. If we win, we can attend the local school board meeting and not have to travel from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and sit all day to be heard by BESE members who have not experienced a never ending state takeover of their hometown schools.  If we win, the local school board will be responsive and accountable to the community. If we win, we will have board members who we elect – not select. We will be a part of the system that bears this city name – the Orleans Parish School Board.  

The Orleans Parish School Board was elected and charged with implementing policies and instructional programs to effectively educate all the children living in this city. Over the last eight years, OPSB schools have performed well and made great progress toward meeting all state goals. Whereas both RSD and FIN have failed to meet their goals, OPSB schools have led the way. We cannot waste any more time. Let’s allow the local board to be responsive and accountable to this community.

If we lose, we will get another charter school operator. One who may not be responsive to the wishes of the community. One who holds meeting during the day when parents are at work.  One who selects their board members. We may get an operator who stays for two years and then quits. Or worse, the RSD refuses to renew that charter! It’s a big gamble. If we trust the system that BESE and RSD used to pick FIN, we can be on the merry go round and round and round! Our children must not be used as subjects in an experiment as the charters seek to manage a high school. We will continue to lose our children to the streets of violence and prison if we cannot provide stable and quality education.  If we lose, our children may continue to think that it is ok to quit and give up on education.  Let’s not simply relinquish that power back to RSD.   We cannot allow a continuous cycle of charter school operators to experiment with managing and operating this school.  Our children and community have suffered too long – give the school back and stop the madness!

If you believe in local control, let’s tell BESE to give John McDonogh Senior High School back to the local board. 

We need you to sign this petition and share it with everyone in your address book, your facebook, twitter, and instagram accounts and ask them to do the same. We would like to take 10,000 signatures to the next BESE board meeting.