Chapter 3 (Pages 122-132)

  • The New Orleans Parish School District learning environment became so bad it was referred to as "schoolhouse rot" was at its peak in 1990. These conditions were from leaky roofs, termite infestations, water damage, and electrical issues. 122 of 124 schools in the district violated some kind of fire code.
  • There were over 400 portable classrooms used to educate students. The conditions of these were harsh as they were old and many were rotting in the school yards.
  • There was big controversy between parents and the New Orleans Parish School District as schools started to slowly rename many of the schools in the district. Schools were being named to better represent majority of its students population, which was mostly black residents, by naming them after former slaves. This stirred a lot of controversy within the community.
  • Magnet schools became a controversy due to its enrollment policies being based on student attendance and academic performance.  These schools consisted of 90% of white students and were better funded and equipped with resources. The admission policies were controversial and magnet schools ended up having to revamp their admission policies, which in result upset a lot of parents.
  • To help improve academics, Louisiana implemented its school and district accountability which sent out report cards as a way to monitor, measure, and publicize a schools academic performance.
  • The Louisiana Educational and Academic Program was put into place and required that students must meet criteria for grade promotions and those who did not were put in remedial programs. Schools could not give a diploma to any students who did not pass the exit examination test. 
  • The "LEAP monster" required fourth and eighth grade students to pass the state test in order to move on to the next grade.
Reflection: 

The second half of chapter three highlighted not only the academic challenges students faced, but also the health and safety challenges. Students entered school everyday with no air conditioning, water damage, rotting classrooms, and so many health and safety hazards. These conditions are not hospitable learning environments and greatly had an impact on students health and education. Students also were met with academic road blocks. Students were now required to perform well on tests if they wished to move on to the next grade, or even graduate. Louisiana became so reliant on tests to deem academic success, but failed to provide all students with adequate preparation and resources to perform well on these tests. Many students performed not great on these tests, except for white students who attended magnet schools and were provided with an abundance of resources. Overall, this chapter highlighted the educational and racial segregation that was still occurring in New Orleans Parish School District, and many were overlooking the severity of it.














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