300 students turned away from N.O. (public!) schools

[KamaAina]

Could this be why the Fuckmook-in-Chief didn't mention New Orleans even once at last night's SOTU: because at least 300 children have been left behind??!!

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/116962470698400.xml&coll=1

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....

In November 2005, the state Legislature voted to take control of 107 New Orleans public schools performing below the state average. That legislation put those campuses under the control of the Recovery District, leaving just 16 of the city's highest-performing schools under the local School Board's control....

Flozell Daniels, who is married to Orleans Parish School Board member Heidi Daniels, recalled trying to enroll a cousin's fourth-grade child in a Recovery District school and being told of the wait list.

"I intellectually understand how difficult this is, but it is morally criminal and it is illegal to keep a child from getting an education in America," he said. "It's unconscionable."

"Wait-listed"?! What is this, the flippin' Ivy League?! Children -- poor, African American children -- are being denied a public education, right here in the good ol' U. S. of A. (or at least on its outskirts :sarcasm: ) :grr: :banghead:

[hlthe2b]

1. Yup... "No CHild Left Behind...."

:sarcasm: (unless they are in NOLA)

[acmavm]

2. Welcome to the new, wealthy, upgraded City of New Orleans

where the rich republicans don't want any poor or black. Especially poor AND black.

[Justyce]

4. Yes, it's not just African-Americans

I have a lot of relatives in N.O., poor and white, going through the same crap. I believe it's just as much about class.

[acmavm]

5. That is why I said poor and black. I did not mean poor blacks

exclusively.

[liberal N proud]

3. We don't need no education

Just per the regime's plan, keep the public uneducated so they don't realize what is being done to them.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. A city in recovery.

It really isn't about them not wanting to prevent African-American children from getting an education, as other races are also being 'wait-listed.' It is, however, a reflection on the horrific state of our city! There simply are not enough teachers and classroom space. I haven't seen any action on the part of our city government to entice teachers to come here. And even if they did get them to come, where will they put them?! Homes are still in shambles, and the ones that are not are outrageously priced; and on a teacher's salary...they would have to decide whether to pay rent and bills or pay rent and eat! Also consider, we are having these problems and we are just barely at 50% of the population prior to Katrina.

It's not just the schools either! The hospitals are turning away patients, including emergencies because there is no one to care for them. I am currently trying to find health care providers. I was lucky and found a doctor close by, but as for a dentist? No such luck. Most aren't taking new clients, some aren't even back yet! Mental health providers are in huge demand, but a rare find in the city. I saw a stat not too long ago that only 13% of mental health providers have returned to the city. Other professionals, such as doctors and dentists are only at a 30% return rate. Our city is very much still in trouble!

[KamaAina]

12. There is at least one private initiative to attract teachers.

I haven't seen any action on the part of our city government to entice teachers to come here.

Hell, I haven't seen any action on the part of your city government to do anything! While visiting (at long last!), I got to be part of the march against violence on Thursday the 11th.

If I had anything like the teacher's temperament (been there, done that), I'd be looking closely at this. Perhaps another DUer or seventy will step up to the plate:

http://www.teachnola.org/ar/overview.html

teachNOLA seeks the nation’s most outstanding young, mid- and post-career professionals to make a difference by teaching in New Orleans’ Recovery School District (RSD). This highly-selective initiative of New Schools for New Orleans recruits the most talented individuals to drive the city’s rebirth by boosting academic achievement for all students.

This is a critical time for New Orleans and a potential watershed moment for public education in the United States. The reconfiguration of the city’s schools following Hurricane Katrina provides a historic opportunity to transform one of the nation’s lowest performing school systems. That transformation will not be possible, however, without a group of accomplished, goal-oriented teachers.

As a teachNOLA Fellow, you will use your experience, knowledge, and record of achievement to improve the lives of the city’s neediest students. You will also become part of a powerful network of education leaders working to build a model for urban education reform.

Socially conscious professionals and recent college graduates are encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in outstanding candidates in science, math, special education, foreign languages, and English. No education coursework is required.

Confession: I was looking at a position as part of their recruitment and selection process. Call me crazy, but at this point, I consider myself to have "dual citizenship" (lived in N.O. for a time around 15 years ago).

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Thanks for that link!

I hadn't seen that information! I am glad you got to be part of the march. I missed it because I got the dates mixed up. :P I have even thought about teaching, but there is that whole "children" thing..yeech! :) I taught at university level, and they ain't really hiring in my area of specialty.

Again, thanks for the info!

[hashibabba]

7. I bet Brad and Angelina's kids got a spot in class. eom

[Behind the Aegis]

8. They attend a private school. n/t

[420inTN]

9. NOLA Child Left Behind n/t

[redqueen]

10. For that and many other reasons, yes.

Why would he want to make himself look any more evil than he is?

[aquart]

11. It's illegal.

Education is mandated by state law. If you haven't got space, you build or rent it, but THE CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL.

[wellst0nev0ter]

14. And Guess Which Chimp In Chief Failed To Mention Katrina In His Speech?

Yeah, that one:

(CBS/AP) New Orleans is still a mess and the pace of recovery across the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina's strike remains achingly slow after 17 months. But none of this captured President Bush's attention on the year's biggest night for showcasing policy priorities.

In the president's State of the Union speech last year, delivered just five months after the disaster, the devastation merited only 156 words out of more than 5,400.

On Tuesday night, the president spoke for almost exactly as long before a joint session of Congress. But Katrina received not a single mention.

"At this time I almost broke my TV, knocked it off the stand," Chris Davis, told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. Davis, a Vietnam veteran, is one of the displaced residents from New Orleans now living near Baton Rouge, La.

"People were already feeling forgotten. I think this may potentially reinforce that," Toni Bankston, a mental health caseworker, told CBS News.

Officials in Louisiana were also disappointed by the oversight.

"The governor is supremely disappointed," said a spokeswoman for Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. "The president's speech was promoted as focusing on his domestic priorities, yet we see where hurricane recovery is on his list. It's not even on the radar."

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said, "With nearly 6,000 words about the nation's priorities, not one single word was devoted to the rebuilding and protection of affected areas of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. It was a glaring omission."

Republican Sen. David Vitter's criticism was more muted.

"I was disappointed somewhat," Vitter said, "but I didn't necessarily expect a significant mention primarily because the federal government has provided a great deal of funding and aid and because most of the hurdles we face are at the state level."

By contrast, in the days ahead of the president's address, Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia compared the U.S. money being spent on Iraqi reconstruction with the fraction committed to the Gulf Coast rebuilding. And, chosen to give the Democratic response to Mr. Bush on Tuesday, Webb brought up the continuing struggle of Katrina victims right away, listing "restoring the vitality of New Orleans" just behind education and health care among his party's most pressing priorities, according to the text of his speech distributed in advance.