We, the undersigned, want the best educational options for our children in New Orleans. We desire diversity in the leadership of our schools.
We acknowledge that at present the charter application process is flawed and subjective and creates a disadvantage for local community charter groups.
We stand as a community demanding a fair and equitable process for chartering schools that allow local groups to fairly compete in the opportunity to educate our children.
We stand with the Coalition for Community Leadership in Education in asking that:
1. All materials used to review charter applications be made easily accessible including the rubric used by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and that the rubric be fairly and objectively utilized.
2. A local technical assistance program be developed and implemented to support local groups who are committed to excellence and who will ultimately bear the tax burden of sustaining what is built in New Orleans.
3. An appeals process be implemented to give applicants the opportunity to respond to concerns identified in their applications simultaneously while the application cycle is still active as opposed to waiting until after the application cycle has ended.
In light of these very blatant flaws with the charter application process, we are demanding that the current charter application process, and all subsequent decisions, be halted. And we are recommending that the entire process be formally reviewed.
