four children scoring at their standard grade level. The City School Board was so

corrupt that the FBI started an investigation and eventually put its

president and 30 others into jail. On top of this almost all of the teachers were

organized in unions. This ensured that even the worst teachers kept their job

for life. Idealistic educators and politicians tried to change the system

but their efforts were blocked by those in charge who did everything possible to

keep things as they were. Then things got worse. In 2005 Katrina, a massive

hurricane, struck the city and destroyed virtually everything including all

schools. As a result, everyone left the city. Kids stopped going to school. The

school board lost all of its funding and the teachers lost their jobs leading to

unions losing all of their members. It was a true disaster for everyone. In the

aftermath of Katrina politicians, bureaucrats and educators saw an

opportunity to finally bring change upon a system that had previously failed

so many kids in such a miserable way. Under the leadership of governor

Kathleen Blanco it was concluded that while they didn't know the best solution

they did know that the system had to be created using trial and error and

experimentation. They had an idea: Instead of running a top-down system of state

schools, their idea was to allow independent charter schools to take over.

Charters are schools that are fully state-funded, free of charge and run by

independent entrepreneurs who follow their mission. Charter schools hire their

own teachers and set up their own curriculums. They often even build their

own facilities and then compete with one another to attract new students. As a

result of this bold effort to reform a lot of philanthropists and nonprofit

organizations invested into New Orleans education and hundreds of charter

schools opened up. Parents and their children suddenly had a lot of choices

in picking schools aligned with their ideas regarding quality education. The

schools that didn't attract enough children closed down again.

in 2019, 15 years later, almost half of all students performed at grade level.

High school graduation rates increased and college outcomes became

significantly better. New Orleans had become the first large American city

that does not operate a single traditional public school. The story of

New Orleans schools shows what is possible when old structures break down

and people have no choice but to leave a damaged system. Good people who were

stuck in a bad system then get an opportunity to start fresh. Parents and

children have the opportunity to choose for themselves the type of schools that

they believe in. How are the schools organized in your country? Do you think

that a reform of that system would benefit the students? If so, what change

would you propose?

Since I started learning French with Lingoda my

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