Fateama Fulmore, New Orleans’ head of schools, was so excited to share Thursday's news that she at times tripped over her words.
The district received a record high score from the state this year — and its first B grade — according to data released this week. Schools missed the higher cutoff by a point last year.
“All the hard work that our schools poured into our students has paid off,” Fulmore said at a press conference.
She celebrated the district’s achievement at the newly A-rated Eleanor McMain High School, complete with marching band and majorettes, and alongside leaders from many of the city’s charter schools.
Fulmore alluded to the district’s recent challenges, which include the abrupt departure of its former superintendent and her promotion from deputy, as well as last year’s surprise $50 million deficit.
She thanked school leaders, principals and teachers for their commitment to students, despite the uncertainty.
“Teaching and learning kept moving,” she said. “They got the job done.”
The district’s B score comes two decades after the state took over most of New Orleans' schools following Hurricane Katrina and turned them into charters.
Since then, officials have regularly closed low-performing schools — based mainly on state letter grades — and test scores and other outcomes have improved significantly.
The city’s schools also appear to have recovered more quickly from the pandemic than some other urban school districts, according to multiple studies.
But the state’s goalposts are about to move.
Louisiana’s new accountability system takes effect this spring. Most schools across the state are expected to take a hit, and New Orleans, as a district, could fall to a C on the new scale, based on simulated scores.
Fulmore said she knows the district can meet the new standards. It may just take some time.
“This progress gives us the momentum we need,” she said
Standout schools
Fulmore shouted out many of the district’s schools for their individual scores. More than half grew, anywhere from about half a point to 14 points.
Two dozen schools received the state’s top designation for student progress, equivalent to an A grade in growth.
Among her standouts was Robert Russa Moton, an elementary school that had an F rating when it was chartered to ReNEW Schools as a “turnaround” campus in 2024. In one year, the school’s grade grew to a C.
“That deserves a round of applause and a tremendous amount of recognition,” Fulmore said.
Another was Travis Hill School, which serves students who are incarcerated. The school grew its score by 10 points, from a C to a B.
Byron Goodwin, Hill’s CEO, cited the school’s improved dropout rates, which track whether students graduate or remain in school after they’re released.
“Our students aren’t just leaving our setting, they’re re-enrolling, earning credits and continuing their education,” Goodwin said in a press release.
Two schools received Fs this year: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School and Einstein Charter at Sherwood Forest.
The district closed King’s high school at the end of last school year, citing low enrollment and test scores, but kept its K-8 program open. Einstein’s board plans to consolidate three of its campuses over the summer, including Sherwood Forest.
District officials have said they don’t expect to close any schools this year, as all those that plan to remain open are projected to meet renewal standards.
More high schools earn As
This year, four open-enrollment high schools netted As, up from just one — Edna Karr — the year before.
The schools include Frederick Douglass, a KIPP school, single-site charter Sophie B. Wright and two InspireNOLA schools: Eleanor McMain and Karr.
Benjamin Franklin and Willow, which students test into, maintained their A ratings. New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a state-authorized school, scored more than 12 points higher than last year and also earned an A.
Towana Pierre-Floyd, Douglass’ principal, said her school’s A represents her team’s “dogged year over year work.”
Douglass, then called Renaissance, received a D rating from the state when Pierre-Floyd started her job in 2014. The school earned its first A rating in 2016, Douglass said, thanks to a focus on data and the creation of its ninth-grade academy and early college program.
The state changed its grading system the following year, and the school’s rating fell to a B, where it stayed through the pandemic.
“That consistency felt really good,” said Pierre-Floyd. “But we knew we needed to make a push to get over the hump. Because our kids are A students and deserve an A school.”
Pierre-Floyd said her school is celebrating its A, and while the state has given it a simulated score of C under the new system, it isn’t claiming it.
That’s not the bar they were trying to meet last school year, so they shouldn’t and won’t be judged by it, she said.
Clearing a higher bar
State officials argue the current system is unnecessarily complicated and that too many high schools receive high grades.
For elementary and middle schools, the new system has been generally accepted, even welcomed by some.
It weighs “growth” — how much a student’s test scores improve each year — much more heavily than “proficiency” — whether they’re performing at grade level — flipping the two categories.
The change rewards schools that help students improve over time, especially those at the very bottom — even if they’re still behind.
For high schools, test scores carry greater weight than before — from 25% in the formula to 75% — and graduating students must complete one of three pathways to earn points for their school: college, career, or military service.
Three-quarters of high schools would have earned lower scores this year under the new system. In New Orleans, A-rated Douglass, McMain and Wright would have received Cs and Karr a D, in part due to the increased weight given to test scores.
State scores carry added weight for NOLA Public Schools, since district officials use them to decide whether to renew charter schools.
“The system rewards schools for preparing students for life after graduation. It values college credit, high-quality credentials, work-based learning, and service,” according to the state.
But Ken Oertling, the head of schools in St. Charles Parish, said he believes “the old system represented that more so than the newer one.”
Oertling said that by placing much greater weight on the state’s six exams, the system incentivizes schools to focus on test prep rather than preparing students for life after high school.
Most district leaders opposed the move, said Oertling, who was the head of the state’s association of school superintendents at the time.
“The new system does not truly reflect the work we’re doing as a state,” Oertling said.
His district is A-rated and would have held onto its score if the new system had been in place, though some of the parish’s schools would have received lower scores.
To earn points for career and technical education, schools will have to make new investments, something Oertling said will be harder for school systems with lower local tax revenue.
Pierre-Floyd said that while she supports raising the bar, she wishes schools had a longer runway to prepare, including building partnerships and purchasing equipment to meet new requirements
The state approved the changes last year, and some details still need to be worked out, she said.
Despite the challenges, Pierre-Floyd is optimistic.
“We got the A, and we’re gonna maintain the A because we’re trying to be really thoughtful,” she said.
