April 4, 2006
By Gary D. Myers
NEW ORLEANS – Parents at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary will encounter a new educational landscape when they try to enroll their children in school this fall. In response, NOBTS has created a resource center to help parents make informed choices about the many new educational options.
Sheryl Ray, educational consultant for NOBTS, has spent hours meeting with and communicating with school officials in the New Orleans metro area. Based on her meetings with school officials, Ray has developed a web-based resources center to assist parents. The educational resource center can be accessed at www.nobts.edu/Students/ by clicking on the “Children’s Education” link.
The site, which launched on April 3, highlights the options that parents may consider for their children. The options include public, charter and private schools, as well as home schooling. Rather than recommending any one option, Ray sees providing parents with information as her most important role.
“I’m not going to try to sway anybody one way or another,” she said. “We will let [parents] have the information and make up their minds as they know their child.”
“I believe there will be more options than they have ever had,” Ray continued.
The most significant changes will occur in the city’s public schools.
For years, the New Orleans public schools have lagged behind the rest of the state. Following Katrina, many of the public schools will reopen as charter schools. Others will be reopened under state control.
Ray sees these developments as a chance for improvement in the city’s schools. Each charter school must submit a detailed school plan to the Louisiana Department of Education. The state reviews the education philosophy and the curriculum of each charter applicant. Those that meet the state’s standards will be granted a charter.
Public schools that do not reopen as charter schools will open under state control. The goal for the new charter schools and the state-control public schools will be on improving the quality of the education system in New Orleans.
Ray said the private school landscape will also change significantly. Some private schools in the area received too much damage to reopen.
Because the educational landscape is still developing, Ray encourages parents to check the site often for updates. Charter applications were taken until late March. Additional public, charter and private schools could still announce plans to open before the start of the school year.
The website also includes information parents need to begin the process of enrolling their children in public or private schools. Addresses, contact numbers and registration information are included on the site.
Ray also provides a list of documentation each child will need to enroll. Parents must have a copy of the child’s birth certificate and immunization records available. Ray encourages all families who lost these documents in the flood to obtain copies from the proper authorities.
In some cases, schools are asking for report cards or other documentation to show that children have been in school since the hurricane. This information is required by some schools even for children who are moving to New Orleans for the first time.
Another popular option for seminary families has been home schooling. Ray said that NOBTS had a strong home school organization before the storm. She is currently working to identify parents to lead out in redeveloping that organization.
Ray encourages seminary families to contact her if they have any questions. She can be contacted by phone at (504) 473-5644 or by email at NOBTSchildren@nobts.edu.
“We are delighted to welcome Sheryl Ray as our education consultant,” said Craig Price, NOBTS dean of students. “Mrs. Ray comes to us from a vast background in the public schools.”
Price believes Ray’s experience in education is vital in developing the resources seminary parents need to know about New Orleans area schools.
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