Robert Siegel （Host）： 9 years ago today, Hurricane Katrina demolished much of New Orleans and gutted almost all of its public schools. Today, the school system is unlike any other in the nation. More than 90% of the city’s students this fall are attending charter schools run by dozens of private nonprofit organizations. All parents choose their kids school regardless of where they live. The NPR Ed team is focusing on these and other remarkable changes in the New Orleans schools this fall. As Claudio Sanchez reports, some say this so-called competitive market-driven system is the future of public education, and that New Orleans is the model.

Claudio Sanchez （Byline）： A massive $1.8 billion school construction project is underway here. Almost all the new buildings will eventually house charter schools like George Washington Carver Collegiate Academy in the city’s Ninth Ward. It operates out of a maze of double-wide trailers in a big open field not far from its future home, which for now is nothing more than a skeleton of steel beams. Buses arrive and unload 320 teenagers in white polo shirts and khaki pants.

Unidentified Woman #1： Scholars, I need everybody inside the line. Hands to your side. Please do not touch the rim. Remember…

Claudio： Kids cannot wear colors that are not the school’s colors. They cannot walk outside the blue lines painted on the floors. Too many accessories, too much bling—all banned. Carver’s strict approach to discipline and academics were devised not by a central administration or school board, but by collegiate academies—one of 42 private nonprofit organizations that have pretty much taken over public education in New Orleans. Each one of the 85 charter schools under this system has its own curriculum, its own hiring policies. The expectation—results, namely high test scores.

Jerel Bryant： I got into this because I recognize the stakes of it.

Claudio： Carver principal Jerel Bryant.

Jerel： Here is a group of people who are not getting what they deserved.

Claudio： Bryant, 29, grew up in Harlem , New York, graduated from Yale and came to New Orleans in 2007. Like most of the young people who flocked here after Katrina, Bryant had no teaching experience, but says he wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids who had been through so much. Jessica Butler, 15, was in elementary school when Katrina demolished her home.

Jessica Butler： We basically lived in our car for, like, two weeks. And when I actually got to school, I was the new kid. I was the kid from New Orleans.

Claudio： Jessica and her family fled to Houston where she says they did not feel welcome. 16-year-old Clarence Plummer and his family ended up in Houston, too.

Clarence Plummer： And once I got to Texas, people looked at me differently because I was from New Orleans. And they looked at me like, oh, you supposed to be a gangster, let me test and see how real you are. So I’m like, how you just assume that I’m one of them people？ I just come here to go to school. I’m to learn like you.

Claudio： Clarence lost count of the fights he got into in Houston. Carver Academy, on the other hand, has been good for him.

Clarence： Because now it’s like the teachers aren’t really teachers. It’s like they’re actually people you can sit down and talk to like part of your family. So it’s like reaching for their approval on most of the things you do.

Claudio： That change in how kids view their education is why New Orleans has come under a microscope. The city’s children—almost all African American and poor—are now part of an experiment, a chance to rethink everything, says principal Bryant.

Jerel： There is something here that requires some change. I mean, this city, it’s the gamble city for a reason—whether you want to call it an experiment, we have to give it a fair opportunity to see if this can work.

Claudio： 9 years after the state turned the city’s public schools over to charter organizations, test scores have shot up, and kids are outpacing their peers throughout Louisiana. But are New Orleans schools today good enough？

John Ayers： I think the evidence is mixed.

Claudio： John Ayers is director of the Cowen Institute for Public Education at Tulane University. It has chronicled the takeover of New Orleans’ public schools since 2007.

John： Before the storm, 65% of students were attending a failing school. Now, about 13% are in failing schools. And we replaced a system that was rife with corruption and failure, and that’s kind of a miracle. But…

Claudio： In a decentralized school system with 45,000 students, Ayers concedes some kids still fall through the cracks.

John： Chronic absenteeism and truancy problems have not been dealt with well. We have not done a great job on special ed., which is common. We’ve got data that suggests a degree of success. But we’re aiming at basic skills, not at mastery. And mastery is what you need to get to…to go to the next grade. So we only have 19% of the young people in Orleans Parish hitting mastery.

Claudio： For a system that’s supposed to be a model for the nation, critics say that’s far from impressive.

Richard Kahlenberg： My reading of the evidence is that it’s been overblown. There’s still substantial numbers of schools that struggle in New Orleans.

Claudio： Richard Kahlenberg, senior fellow with the Century Foundation, is a critic of the most important feature of the New Orleans experiment—school choice.

Richard： We’ve had corporate reformers come into the public school system and impose this market-based model. The problem is that in education, choice by itself—unregulated choice will often lead to higher levels of segregation, greater inequality. And that is quite disturbing.

Claudio： So sure, says Kahlenberg, parents can choose, but there aren’t enough spots in good schools. White students, meanwhile, disproportionately attend the top-performing charters, or so-called A and B schools, in part because these schools kept their selective admissions policies after Katrina. Still, Ayers insists, school choice works better than people think.

John： We are the only city that has created the first true market in public education and, by no means, a perfect market. But listen, it’s unique.

Claudio： Parents, meanwhile, seem split. At this city-wide fair, hundreds have shown up to pick up free school supplies. Denise Molosong’s three daughters all attend charters.

Denise Molosong： If an organization or some sort wants to invest and take interest in the school system, and if they can produce a quality education, then I think it’s great. And the children are the ones that benefit from it.

Unidentified Girl： Oh, my gracious.

Denise： Oh, my goodness.

Claudio： Molosong says her three little girls are thriving.

Unidentified Woman #2： What size does she wear？

Claudio： A few tables down, Marlise Franklin waits in line for a free polo shirt for each of her two kids. She put her 15-year-old daughter in a non-charter school this year—one of only six left in the entire city. It’s been a lot tougher finding the right school for her 6-year-old, says Franklin, because he has a learning disability, and the charter school that he went to last year didn’t treat him or her very well.

Marlise Franklin： They never put me around the table to try to tell me what’s going on with him or anything like that. I was in the blind, and so this year coming up, I’m educated about it so they won’t be able to fool me this time.

Jerel： Good morning, team.

Unidentified Staff： Good morning, Mr. Bryant.

Jerel： It’s good to see you all.

Unidentified Staff： It’s good to be seen.

Claudio： It’s 8 A.M. at George Washington Carver Collegiate Academy. Principal Jerel Bryant gathers his staff before kids arrive. He agrees with parents who say there is a lot to fix. Indeed, the discipline policies at collegiate academy schools, including Carver, have prompted a civil rights complaint by parents who say discipline is so harsh it verges on abuse. Bryant is not free to discuss the issue. He has a lot more to worry about. Less than a fourth of his ninth graders this year are reading at grade level. And a fifth have a learning disability.

Jerel： We don’t deserve a lot of time to make this work because it’s too high stakes. It’s not about politics, it’s about kids. You get one childhood, and we have to make it count for kids.

Unidentified Woman #3： Who are we？

Unidentified Staff： Carver Collegiate Academy. When one rises, we all rise.

Unidentified Woman #3： How do we start？

Unidentified Staff： One step, one classroom, one school.

Claudio： Before he wraps up his morning meeting, Bryant joins his staff in an incantation of sorts, the same one students will have heard hundreds of times by the end of the school year.

Unidentified Woman #3： Where are you headed？

Unidentified Staff： To college.

Unidentified Woman #3： And will you succeed？

Unidentified Staff： Yes.

Jerel： Exceed the expectation.

（Stomping）

Jerel： C.

Unidentified Staff： C.

Jerel： A.

Unidentified Staff： Team.

Claudio： It’s 8：20, and teachers scurry to their classrooms well aware that the entire country is watching.

羅伯特·西格尔（主持人）：9年前的今天，卡特里娜飓风大面积地摧毁了新奥尔良以及它几乎所有的公立学校。现在，新奥尔良的学校制度不同于本国的其他学校系统。这个秋天，90%的城市学生去由一些私人的非营利组织创办的特许学校上学。所有的家长都不以他们的住址而为孩子选择学校。NPR的教育团队正在关注今年秋天新奥尔良学校这样或那样显著的变化。 据劳迪奥·桑切斯报导，一些人认为这个所谓的有竞争力的、以市场为导向的教育系统是公共教育未来发展的方向，新奥尔良就是一个试点。

克劳迪奥·桑切斯（撰稿人）：一项耗资18亿美元的大型学校建设工程正在进行中。几乎所有新的建筑物最终都会建成像该市第九区的乔治·华盛顿卡弗学院中学这样的特许学校。这项工程在离它新址不远的一片广阔的空地中用一堆密集的加宽拖车开始运作，现在还只是一个钢梁骨架。汽车每天运送320名穿着白色马球衫和卡其色裤子的学生来到这里。

不知名女士# 1：同学们，我需要每个人都站在线内，双手放在身体两侧，别触碰边缘线。切记……

克劳迪奥：孩子们不能穿学校规定以外颜色的衣服，他们不能走出地板上划的蓝线。（身上）太多装饰品、太多闪亮的东西都被禁止。卡弗严格的纪律和教学制度不是由中央政府或学校董事会制定的，而是由Collegiate Academies（新奥尔良第一家特许学校管理机构）制定的，它是42个私人非营利机构之一，在新奥尔良接管大部分的公共教育。在这个系统下的85所特许学校都有各自的课程以及招生政策。这样做的目的就是（让学生们）取得高的考试分数。

杰雷尔·布莱恩特：我投身其中是因为我认识到了这里面的利害关系。

克劳迪奥：这是卡弗的校长杰雷尔·布莱恩特。

杰雷尔：这里有许多人没有得到应得的东西。

克劳迪奥：布莱恩特，今年29岁，在纽约的哈莱姆区（美国黑人住宅区）长大。他毕业于美国耶鲁大学，在2007年来到新奥尔良。与大部分因为卡特里娜飓风而聚集在这里的年轻人一样，布莱恩特没有教学经验，但是他说想为那些经历如此之多的孩子们改变人生。杰西卡·巴特勒，今年15岁，在卡特里娜飓风摧毁她家的时候还在上小学。

杰西卡·巴特勒：我们基本上都住在车上，住了有两个星期左右。当我真正能上学的时候，我是一个新学生，一个来自新奥尔良的学生。

克劳迪奥：杰西卡和她的家人逃到了休斯顿，她说在那儿他们并不受欢迎。16岁的卡拉伦斯·普卢默和他的家人也来到了休斯顿。

卡拉伦斯·普卢默：当我来到德克萨斯州，人们看我的眼光就不一样，因为我来自新奥尔良。他们看我的眼神就像在说：“噢，你应该是一个流氓，让我来检验你有多坏。”所以我当时就在想，你怎么能推测我就是他们中的一份子？我只是来这里上学，跟你们一样是来学习的。

克劳迪奥：卡拉伦斯已经数不清自己在休斯顿经历了多少场斗争。但是卡弗中学却对他很好。

卡拉伦斯：因为现在的老师不是真正的老师，比如他们能够真正跟你坐下来聊天，就像家人一样。就像你身边大部分的事都能征求他们的意见一样。

克劳迪奥：孩子们如何看待教育这一改变就是为什么新奥尔良就像被放在显微镜下审视。这个城市的孩子——几乎都是非裔美国人和穷人，现在都是实验的一部分，这是一个重新思考每件事的机会，布莱恩特校长说道。

杰雷尔：这里需要一些改变。我的意思是，这座城市叫作赌城是有原因的——不管你是否管它叫做一个实验，我们必须给它一个公平的机会，看看是否能成功。

克劳迪奥：在路易斯安那州把新奥尔良市的公共学校變成特许学校的9年后，（学生们）的成绩迅速提高，那里的学生（学习成绩）超过在路易斯安那州其他城市的同龄人。但是现在新奥尔良的学校够好了吗？

约翰·艾尔：我认为证据是混杂的。

克劳迪奥：约翰·艾尔是杜兰大学考恩研究所公共教育的主任。该研究所记录了自2007年以来新奥尔良公立学校被接管后的情况。

约翰：在飓风发生之前，65%的学生到差劲的学校上学。现在，大约13%的学生还面临这种情况。我们取代了一个充满腐败与落后的制度。这是一个奇迹。但是……

克劳迪奥：在一个有45000名学生的分散管理的学校制度里，艾尔承认还有一些孩子被忽视了。

约翰：长期旷课和逃学的问题还没有被处理好。我们在特殊教育方面做得还不够好，这是普遍的现象。我们有数据显示我们获得了一定程度的成功。但是我们的目标是在基本的技能，而不是精通的程度。你需要到下一个年级才能达到精通的程度。因此在新奥尔良教区我们只有19%的学生到达了精通的程度。

克劳迪奥：对于一个被认为是本国示范的教育系统，批评者说这不足以让人信服。

理查德·卡伦贝格：我认为这些证据被夸大了，还有大量新奥尔良的学校没有取得成功。

克劳迪奥：理查德·卡伦贝格，世纪基金会的高级研究员，是新奥尔良（学校建设）实验最重要的环节——学校选择的评论员。

理查德：我们与改革者合作，一起投身到公立学校系统（的建设），实施这种市场化的模式。问题就在于在教育中，择校本身——不规范的择校会导致更深的隔离，更多的不公平。这很让人困扰。

克劳迪奥：所以是的，卡伦贝格说道，家长们有权选择学校，但是好学校的数量不够。与此同时，白人学生不成比例地进入了好的特许学校，或者所谓的A类学校或B类学校，部分原因是由于这些学校在卡特里娜飓风发生之后延续了自己选择性的招生政策。但是艾尔仍然坚持择校比人们想象得更有效。

约翰：我们是唯一创立了第一个真正的公共教育市场的城市，而非一个完美的市场。但是听着，这是独一无二的。

克劳迪奥：这个时候，家长们（的选择）很不一致。在这个全市范围内的集市，成百上千位家长出现，去领取免费的学校用品，丹尼斯·莫洛桑的三个女儿都到特许学校上学。

丹尼斯·莫洛桑：如果一个机构对学校制度感兴趣，想对其进行投资，而如果他们能创立一个有质量的教育制度，那么我觉得是很好的，孩子们是其中的受益人。

不知名女孩：噢，我的天啊。

丹尼斯：噢，上帝啊。

克劳迪奥：莫洛桑说她的三个小女孩都长得很快。

不知名女士#2：她穿多少码？

克劳迪奥：几张桌子开外，马莱斯·富兰克林正在排队为她的两个孩子各领取一件免费的马球衫，今年，她把15岁的女儿送到了非特许学校，这是全市仅剩的6所非特许学校的其中一所。给她6岁的孩子找到合适的学校变得更加困难，富兰克林说道，因为他有学习障碍，他去年去的特许学校并没有很好的对待他或者她。

马莱斯·富兰克林：他们从来不告诉我他在学校发生的事。我一无所知，所以今年开始，我有了之前的教训，他们这次不能把我当作傻子。

杰雷尔：早上好，各位。

不知名员工：早上好，布莱恩特先生。

杰雷尔：很高兴看到你们所有人。

不知名员工：很高兴能来到这里。

克劳迪奥：现在是早上8： 00，在乔治·华盛顿卡弗中学里，杰雷尔·布莱恩特校长在孩子们来之前召集了他所有的员工。他同意那些认为很多东西需要改进的家长们的看法。的确，那些包括卡弗中学在内的学院中学制定的纪律制度，引起了家长们的抱怨，他们认为这些纪律制度太严厉，都接近于虐待。布莱恩特没有时间去讨论这个问题，他还有许多东西要担心。不到四分之一的九年级学生达到了应有的阅读水平，五分之一的学生有学习障碍。

杰雷尔：我们没有太多的时间去完成这件事，因为它的风险太大了。不是由于政策的问题，而是因为孩子。你只有一个童年，我们得让孩子们过得有价值。

不知名女士# 3：我们是谁？

不知名员工：卡佛中学。一个人成功，我们都成功。

不知名女士# 3：我们如何开始？

不知名员工：一个步子，一间教室，一所学校。

克劳迪奥：在结束自己早晨的会议之前，布莱恩特和他的员工一起喊出如同咒语般的口号，这是到了每个学年末学生们都会听到数百次的口号。

不知名女士# 3：你要去哪儿？

不知名员工：去上大学。

不知名女士# 3：你会成功吗？

不知名员工：会。

杰雷尔：我们一定会超过预期。

（跺脚）

杰雷尔：C。

不知名员工：C。

杰雷尔：A。

不知名员工：团队。

克劳迪奥：现在是8：20，老师们急忙赶去教室，他们知道整个国家都在看着自己。