Recovery School District closures and changes can leave families with whiplash
Published: Monday, July 04, 2011, 6:30 AM Updated: Monday, July 04, 2011, 11:58 AM
Whenever Linda Acker's daughter, Ariel, finally settled into a new school, word came that it was time to move.
View full sizeSome families with children in the Francis W. Gregory K-8 school in Gentilly reportedly did not hear that the school was closing until after the application process was over.All told, Ariel has attended five different high schools during the past six years, a pace of change that would cause any teenager stress. But in Ariel's case, the instability has been particularly traumatic.
Ariel does not speak and has autism.
A year ago, Acker thought the moves were over: Her daughter had only two semesters left at Frederick Douglass High School before graduation. But just weeks before the start of the school year, Acker received word that Douglass would close.
"It always seems like once she's used to something, they'll change it," said Acker. "Now she has to get used to different children, and they have to get used to her."
Instability, a fact of life in many urban school districts because families tend to move often, takes on additional dimensions in the New Orleans school landscape. The state-run Recovery School District continues to close its traditional schools or turn them over to charter school operatorsat a rapid clip. Even as things settle down