By drawing hundreds of excellent new and certified teachers to New Orleans-area classrooms, the teachNOLA program is helping to rebuild a devastated city and providing some of the nation’s highest-need schools and students greater chances to succeed.
Even before Hurricane Katrina wreaked destruction on the Gulf Coast, New Orleans Public Schools were failing academically, financially and organizationally. Nearly two out of three students scored below basic on the Graduation Exit Exam, and more than half of the district’s schools were considered academically unacceptable by the state. Katrina blew the desperation of the city’s schools into broad daylight and created an opportunity for real reform.
TNTP launched teachNOLA in partnership with New Schools for New Orleans and the Recovery School District just months after the hurricane. A recruitment and selection program dedicated to placing certified teachers as well as excellent recent graduates and mid-career professionals in New Orleans’ schools, teachNOLA targets individuals eager to participate in the revitalization of the Crescent City. Not only does the program bolster the teaching force in New Orleans, it gives teacher candidates overwhelmed by the complex nature of the area’s network of schools a clear and direct pipeline into some of the neediest classrooms in the country.
TeachNOLA taps interest—in New Orleans and nationwide—in giving the city’s students the best chances possible to succeed. Many teachers who have joined teachNOLA personally experienced the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, while others left careers and commitments elsewhere; all are extraordinarily committed to their students. Kaycee Eckhardt, a high school teacher recruited and selected through teachNOLA who holds a degree in English Literature from Louisiana State University, works with many students who are two or more grade levels behind. Yet with resolve and through the use of a reading intervention program called READ 180, she has seen her students make improvements, she told Education Week in April 2008.
As each month passes and New Orleans continues the long process of getting back on its feet, teachNOLA is having a real and sustainable impact on the city. In its first year, the program maintained high selection standards (the applicant-to-hire ratio was 14:1) despite unprecedented recruitment challenges. Ultimately, the program hired 37 teachers in 2006. These teachers helped to fill critical vacancies in high-need subject areas such as math, science, and special education.
In 2007, teachNOLA expanded considerably, bringing 175 new and certified teachers to charter and public schools and exceeding its goal for the year of 125-165 teachers. The program accounted for approximately 20 percent of the Recovery School District’s teacher hires in 2007; individuals entering New Orleans’ classrooms through teachNOLA had an impressive 3.25 average undergraduate GPA. “Lafayette Academy Charter School would not have been as successful in starting up the school year without the teachNOLA teachers we hired,” said Mickey Landry, Lafayette’s head of school.
Today, the teachNOLA program continues to draw talented New Orleans residents and individuals from all over the country to commit themselves to the future of the city: its children.
"Lafayette Academy Charter School would not have been as successful in starting up the school year without the teachNOLA teachers we hired."
Mickey Landry
Head of School
Lafayette Academy Charter School
