Drastic Times Call for Drastic Measures

When the tumultuous winds and destructive forces of Hurricane Katrina had finally ended, the rebuilding process began. For one New Orleans community, rebuilding meant more than just repairing collapsed buildings and cleaning up from the floods. The Algiers section took this opportunity to rebuild its school system, where 83 percent of its students performed below the basic level in English and three of four scored below the basic level in math.

Realizing their school system needed radical changes to improve student learning, New Orleans community leaders and legislators decided to convert Algiers campuses into charter schools. These schools-where poverty levels ranged from 73 percent to 93 percent-adopted the national TAP system.

Weathering the Storm

After the Algiers Charter School Association's first year with TAP, it was clear the comprehensive system was making a big difference. ACSA students scored more than 22 percent higher than their neighboring peers in math and reading. In July 2008, two ACSA schools were taken off the state's "failing schools" list because of the progress they had made.

In ACSA schools, the teacher turnover rate in the 2006-2007 school year was 22 percent, well above the 13 percent national average. In 2007-2008, it dropped to 14 percent and to under 6 percent in the 2008-2009 school year.

In the 2008-2009 school year, ACSA leaders began a pre-TAP initiative for schools considering the system. Under it, schools have a year of learning before voting on whether to support it. Fifty-six schools are currently participating in Louisiana TAP, including 28 pre-TAP schools.

Jahquille Ross, a junior at Edna Karr Charter High School, says instructional strategies he's learned in recent years will help him in the future. He credits TAP. Ross cites techniques he's learned this year in his English class for editing and proofing his work, including reading a paper backwards to catch grammatical errors.

source: www.tapsystem.org

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