NEW ORLEANS – (MAY 27, 2020) - The NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) Public Education Survey on how COVID-19 has affected public education is now live. The goal of the survey is to gather feedback on the current experience of participants and discover what is most important to them at this time as they think ahead to the start of the new school year. The district invites parents, students, teachers, school staff and the community to share their insights, experiences and priorities on schooling during the pandemic and how to best return to school in the fall. The combined responses will help the district and the newly formed Reopening Task Force understand what is happening in our community right now.
“Now more than ever we need to hear from our community,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. “The virus has presented us all with unique and trying challenges. As we plan for what lies ahead for the next school year, we want to be sure we are involving everyone in developing plans to best keep our children and education professionals healthy and supported, while also taking into consideration the needs of families and the community at large. It’s going to take all of us to do this and I know we can do this. I am eager to hear more from the Task Force and encourage everyone to participate in the survey and have their voice be heard.”
How to Participate in The Public Education Survey
To have your voice heard be heard in the public survey please visit www.nolapublicschools.com.
The survey is completely anonymous and open to all parents, teachers, school staff and admin, students in grades 6 and above, and community members. The survey takes approximately 5-7 minutes to complete. Participants are not asked which school they attend or work. They are rather simply asked to provide their zip codes. The survey is open now and will close at 5 p.m. on June 5th.
Public Education Survey To Inform Reopening Task Force
In planning for the reopening of schools for the 2020-2021 school year, the district has convened and will lead a 30-member NOLA-PS Reopening Task Force to assist in their development of a Roadmap to Reopening, which is tentatively scheduled for release by the end of June.
The Task Force, which held its first meeting virtually last week and will meet weekly throughout the summer, is focusing on planning for every possible scenario to ensure students, staff and faculty are safe while helping children grow and learn. The group will act as a conduit for various stakeholders including the City, the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana Department of Education, the Office of Youth and Families as well as the district’s students, parents, retired educators and faith-based community advisory committees. It will advise district administration and the board on the resources and supports that should be available to students, families and educators next school year. In addition to safety and educational considerations, the group will address the needs of diverse learners and the mental and behavioral health of students and staff in various reopening scenarios. The group is comprised of school leaders, teachers, social workers, medical experts, parents, city officials and other key experts.
The launch of this survey and the formation of the Task Force are the first step of re-entry planning for the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The response has been organized into four phases - Rapid Response, Assessment, Re-entry Planning and Implementation.
Over the last several weeks the District has been in the Assessment phase of the COVID-19 recovery; working with school leaders to determine what has worked and what will be needed to continue to support teachers and students in the next school year. As the District works through realigning plans and changing budgets for the next school year, it has been sharing various potential scenarios for reopening with school leaders and working with them to develop plans for each step. To better unify the protocols for reopening schools, and to make protocols and guidelines streamlined across the district, the administration has been sharing multiple potential needs to inform schools’ planning.
Some of those shared considerations include:
Additionally, NOLA-PS is in the process of hiring a medical and public health advisor who will oversee reentry planning processes and will be available to all schools in the district to advise on actions to take and how to keep our campuses safe.
