New Orleans: A Charter School Finds Out That Making Bold Promises is Not Enough
This article in The Nation by Casey Parks tells the story of Sci Academy in New Orleans and the lessons it learned over time about making bold promises.
The school pledged that all its students would go to college and encouraged them to apply to four-year colleges that were outside their comfort zone (not close by and predominantly white).
In 2012, almost all of its graduates were accepted to colleges. By 2019, only 18% had graduated from college.
Parks describes what happened to some of Sci’s top students.
Only months after starting college, some students dropped out.
Most couldn’t point to just one reason for their decision. Some missed their families or needed to find jobs to pay for gaps remaining after their scholarships. Students who enrolled in a North Louisiana university found that the food was too bland. No other place in America is like New Orleans—not even North Louisiana—and it hurt too much to lose the city again after they’d been displaced by the hurricane. Others grew unfocused after they left Sci’s CONTINUE READING: New Orleans: A Charter School Finds Out That Making Bold Promises is Not Enough | Diane Ravitch's blog
