NOLA 180

As 2007 Echoing Green Fellow John Alford kicks off his second year as principal of Langston Hughes Academy Charter School in New Orleans, he is already getting his props in the national news.  Very recently, the New York Times ran a photo of him in an article highlighting the turnaround effort in New Orleans public schools. The article highlights one of the tough problems of lifting New Orleans education out of its funk: where do students from failing schools go once the city shuts down their school?

Last week 2007 Echoing Green Fellow John Alford was quoted by the Washington Post in an article on the rise of charter schools in post-Katrina New Orleans. Since the hurricane ended, charter school enrollment in New Orleans has grown from 2 percent of 67,000 public school students to 53 percent of 33,000 students according to the Post. John is just one of many like-minded individuals who has recognized the city’s tragedy as an opportunity for social change.