This fall, New Orleans’ state-run Recovery School District will become the nation’s first big-city school system comprised entirely of charter schools. (A few non-charter schools will continue to operate outside of the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District.)

Hechinger Report contributing editor Sarah Carr spoke with NPR’s Rachel Martin on Sunday about what the transition means for the city. They spoke about what distinguishes charters from non-charters in a practical sense, with a focus on the experiences of students and families.

In recent weeks, the Hechinger Report has also been running a series of student opeds from New Orleans, on everything from school discipline to Teach for America.

Listen to Carr and Martin:


[Cross-posted at Hechinger Report]

Independent since 1969.

The Washington Monthly is nonprofit and reader-supported. Your tax-deductible gift pays for the reporting you just read.

Sarah Carr is a senior editor for The Hechinger Report. She has written about education for the last 13 years, reporting on battles over school vouchers, efforts to educate China’s massive population of migrant children, and the explosion of charter...