Evaluation of Scaling the New Orleans Charter Restart Model:

Meet the Partners

image description Let’s take a look at the Charter Restart Model players.

  • NSNO: New Schools for New Orleans
    New Schools for New Orleans is the educational harbormaster for the New Orleans system of schools. NSNO provides funding and technical assistance to schools and charter management organizations. NSNO also serves as a systemwide coordinator of solutions to citywide challenges. NSNO was founded in shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2006 to support education reform throughout the city of New Orleans.
  • RSD: Recovery School District
    Louisiana’s Recovery School District was established in 2003 to provide the state Department of Education a mechanism to intervene in persistently low performing schools. In 2005, RSD assumed control of the majority of New Orleans public schools and initiated a citywide process of charter turnaround. RSD will turn control of those takeover schools back to the local Orleans Parish School Board in 2018, but continues to operate throughout Louisiana to improve failing schools.
  • ASD: Achievement School District
    Tennessee’s Achievement School District was founded in 2011 as part of a large-scale education reform effort in Tennessee implemented upon receipt of a federal Race to the Top grant. ASD is empowered to take over failing schools and may turn around those schools by either identifying charter operators or directly operating those schools.
  • CREDO: Center for Research on Education Outcomes
    CREDO at Stanford University produces rigorous, non-partisan research and evaluation to enhance the body of empirical evidence, driving education policy decisions toward improved education outcomes for all students. CREDO’s primary aim is to support educators and policymakers in using the insights that come from sound research to shape program and policy development. CREDO has been engaged since the inception of the CRM as a third-party independent evaluator.

    The authors of this evaluation are:
    • Organizational Capacity Study: Margaret Raymond and Edward Cremata
    • Implementation Study: Lauren Bierbaum, Margaret Raymond, Meghan Cotter Mazzola, and Lindsay Bell
    • Student Impact Study: Sofoklis Goulas, Margaret Raymond, Lauren Bierbaum, Devora Davis, Yohannes Negassi, and William Snow
    • Undergraduate Intern: Aisha Sharif
The Charter Management Organizations
LOUISIANA
  • Choice Foundation

    Choice Foundation was founded in 2004 to promote school choice issues in Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina, Choice Foundation applied for an RSD charter and began operation of Lafayette Academy in 2006. Choice Foundation currently operates two schools, Lafayette and Esperanza Charter School, after having lost the charter for McDonogh 42 (their CRM school) in 2017.

  • Collegiate Academies

    Collegiate Academies was founded in 2011 in order to scale the model of Sci Academy, a high performing high school originally incubated with support from NSNO. Collegiate Academies assumed operation of two CRM schools in 2012: GW Carver and Sojourner Truth Academy, which became Carver Collegiate and Carver Prep. In 2016, Carver Collegiate and Carver Prep merged back into a single school, GW Carver High School. Collegiate Academies also operates two additional New Orleans high schools, an academy program for students with moderate to severe disabilities, and a high school in Baton Rouge. They have plans to open another New Orleans high school in 2018.

  • Crescent City Schools

    Crescent City Schools was founded as a CMO in 2011, simultaneous to their takeover of Harriet Tubman. CCS incubated with support from NSNO and designed their school model with a commitment to New Orleans culture. CCS’s network now includes two other K8 schools, Akili Academy and Paul Habans Elementary.

  • Einstein Charter Schools

    Einstein Charter Schools was founded in 2013, simultaneous to their takeover of Intercultural Charter School which they now run as Einstein Sherwood Forest (when first joining the CRM, the school was known as Einstein Extension). Einstein Charter Schools is the only CMO in the CRM that originated and remains under the auspices of OPSB. The Einstein Charter Schools network includes four schools in New Orleans: Einstein Charter Sherwood Forest (the CRM school), Einstein Charter Village De L’Est, Einstein Middle and Einstein High.

  • Firstline Schools

    Firstline Schools evolved from one of the first pre-Katrina charter schools in New Orleans, the New Orleans Charter Middle School. Firstline Schools began operation of their first turnaround school, Samuel J. Green, the week before Hurricane Katrina hit. Firstline Schools’ network includes Arthur Ashe Charter School, Phillis Wheatley (formerly John Dibert), Langston Hughes Academy (all K-8 schools), and Clark High School.

  • Friends of King Schools

    Friends of King Schools began operation as a CMO in 2012, simultaneous to their entry into the CRM upon taking over operation of Craig Elementary School. FOK’s first school, Dr. King Charter School, was one of the first traditional public schools to undertake the chartering process after Hurricane Katrina. FOK currently operates three schools: Dr. King Charter and Craig (both serving grades K through 8), and King High School.

  • Future is Now

    Future Is Now was founded as a CMO in 2012 to assume operation of John McDonogh High School. FIN grew out of the work of Green Dot Schools, a California-based charter school operator. FIN never established a central CMO office in New Orleans and the organization ceased to exist shortly after the closure of John McDonogh in 2014.

  • Inspire Nola

    InspireNOLA was founded in 2013. InspireNOLA assumed operation of Wilson in 2015 and McDonogh 42 in 2017. InspireNOLA also runs three additional New Orleans schools: Edna Karr High School, Eleanor McMain High School, and Alice Harte Elementary School.

  • KIPP NOLA

    KIPP NOLA began operating in 2005, shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit. When many KIPP students evacuated to Texas during Hurricane Katrina, KIPP NOLA established KIPP New Orleans West in Houston to support those students during their time away from New Orleans. Upon return to New Orleans, KIPP NOLA continued serving students at KIPP McDonogh 15 (now KIPP Morial) and KIPP Believe College Prep (the CRM Flagship school). KIPP NOLA currently serves students at 11 schools across the full K12 gradespan.

  • New Orleans College Prep (NOCP)

    NOCP was founded in 2006 and opened its first school in 2007. NOCP assumed operation of Cohen High School in 2011 (although they joined the CRM in 2012). NOCP currently operates three New Orleans schools (Cohen College Prep High School, Crocker Elementary, and Sylvanie Williams Elementary) as well as a pre-kindergarten early learning center (Hoffman).

  • Rite of Passage

    Rite of Passage is a for-profit provider of services for at-risk and vulnerable youth. Crescent Leadership Academy is ROP’s first charter school, joining the CRM in 2012. In addition to CLA, Rite of Passage manages residential and transitional programs for systems-involved youth across the United States.

TENNESSEE
  • Aspire Public Schools

    Aspire Public Schools was founded in California in 1998. Aspire opened their first schools outside of California in 2013 when they assumed operations for Hanley #1 (the CRM school) and Hanley #2 in Memphis. Aspire currently manages forty schools in total, four of which are in Tennessee.

  • Gestalt Community Schools

    Gestalt Community Schools began operation as a CMO in 2011, after the Gestalt team had run Power Center Academy (a charter school in Memphis) since 2008. Gestalt assumed operations of Humes Upper School in 2012 and Klondike Elementary in 2013. By the end of the CRM evaluation period, Gestalt had surrendered the charters for both their CRM schools. They continue to operate Power Center Academy (grades K through 12) as well as Nexus STEM Academy (grades K through 8).

  • Capstone Education Group (Cornerstone)

    Capstone joined the CRM in 2012 after converting their private Christian school, Cornerstone Prep, to an ASD charter school. In 2013, Capstone joined the CRM when they assumed operation of Lester Elementary as Cornerstone Lester Prep. Capstone currently runs three Memphis schools: Cornerstone Prep Lester (grades K-5), Lester Prep (grades 6-8), and Cornerstone Prep Denver (grades K-5).

  • Freedom Prep

    Freedom Prep was founded in 2009 and joined the CRM in 2014 with the opening of their elementary grades. Freedom Prep declined the opportunity to open additional ASD schools in Memphis, focusing instead on their original campus. Freedom Prep currently serves grades K through 12.

  • KIPP Memphis

    KIPP Memphis opened its first school in 2002, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle School. KIPP Memphis Academy Middle opened in 2012 as a Shelby County charter school, and KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle opened in 2013 as an ASD charter school (these are KIPP Memphis’s two CRM schools). KIPP Memphis runs four additional schools, two Shelby County charters and two ASD charters: KIPP Memphis Collegiate Elementary, KIPP Memphis Collegiate High, KIPP Memphis Academy Elementary, KIPP Memphis Preparatory Elementary.

  • LEAD Public Schools

    LEAD Public Schools began as a single school, LEAD Academy founded in 2007. LEAD joined the CRM when they assumed operations of Brick Church College Prep in 2012. LEAD currently operates six schools in Nashville including Brick Church College Prep. LEAD’s schools include both fresh start schools and full school turnarounds.

Explore the findings for all 25 schools