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The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. Our polls are designed to provide insight into how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. Each year, we ask some new questions about the most relevant and pressing issues facing educators and families. We also repeat questions from our previous polls to assess how opinions change over time on a few key topics. We now release the poll findings in a series of briefs at the start of each year. This is the second of two briefs that will be released in 2024 with results from polling conducted in the fall of 2023. We present the data in this way to make it more accessible and understandable for the general public -- the briefs allow us to group the findings by topic, enabling us to surface trends about particular areas of the city's education system. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, as we have done since 2020, we polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as a small number who homeschool their children.

The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. Our polls are designed to provide insight into how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. Each year, we ask some new questions about the most relevant and pressing issues facing educators and families. We also repeat questions from our previous polls to assess how opinions change over time on a few key topics. We now release the poll findings in a series of briefs at the start of each year. This is the first of two briefs that will be released in 2024 with results from polling conducted in the fall of 2023. We present the data in this way to make it more accessible and understandable for the general public -- the briefs allow us to group the findings by topic, enabling us to surface trends about particular areas of the city's education system. This brief covers general perceptions about New Orleans K-12 public education; the second brief will delve more deeply into specific areas of education. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, as we have done since 2020, we polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as a small number who homeschool their children.

The Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") annually since 2007, with a pause for two years after the March 2020 report because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2022-2023 has marked a return to a more familiar school environment. This report works to capture some of the changes, accomplishments, setbacks, and gains that have occurred in public education in New Orleans since the start of the pandemic. This report is a snapshot of public education in the current academic year using aggregated data from publicly available sources to inform a wide audience that includes educators, families, and students, as well as policymakers and the general public. Unlike previous years, information on teacher demographics and transportation is not included as there is not updated aggregated data available from the Louisiana Department of Education on these topics. The authors believe that there is value in summarizing data on New Orleans education from publicly available sources and putting that together in one place. They hope this report can be used as a jumping-off point to a deeper exploration of these extremely nuanced subject areas and a resource for open and informed discussions among stakeholders. [Entergy New Orleans provided support for this report. For the previous report, "The State of Public Education in New Orleans, 2019-2020," see ED607281.]

This is the second and final brief on the Cowen Institute's 2022 annual poll of parents' and guardians' perceptions of K-12 public education in New Orleans. The Cowen Institute has conducted these polls since 2007 with the intent of providing insight into how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. As they noted in their first poll brief for this year (released in November 2022), the questions in these polls were drafted by the Cowen Institute in consultation with the contracted polling firm, LJR Custom Strategies. The poll includes questions asked each year to assess how opinions change over time, as well as new questions on the most urgent topics of the moment. The Cowen Institute began releasing the poll findings in a series of briefs rather than one comprehensive report starting in 2021 in an effort to make the results more digestible for the public. The first 2022 poll brief (ED626430) covered general perceptions about New Orleans K-12 public education; this brief explores specific education topics in greater depth. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, the Cowen Institute polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as a small number who homeschool their children.

The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. These polls are designed to provide a snapshot about how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. Each year, the Cowen Institute asks some new questions about the most relevant and pressing issues facing educators and families. They also carry over questions from previous polls to assess how opinions change over time on a few key topics. Beginning last year, the Cowen Institute began releasing the poll findings in a series of briefs. Prior to 2021, they had presented the complete findings for a given year in a single comprehensive report. They made the change to make the data more accessible and digestible for the general public -- the briefs allow to group findings by topic, enabling to surface trends about particular areas of the city's education system. This is the first of two briefs they will release on their poll this year. This brief covers general perceptions about New Orleans K-12 public education; the second brief (ED626431) will delve more deeply into specific areas of education. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, as they have done since 2020, the Cowen Institute polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as a small number who homeschool their children.

Since 2007, the Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents, guardians, and the general public feel about the most relevant issues related to New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. In previous editions of the poll, we have presented all of the findings for a given year in a single comprehensive report. However, this year, to expedite the release of the most timely findings, we released a series of briefs covering different topic areas covered by the polling. This is the third and final brief in that series and examines parents and guardians' overall feelings about the quality and features of K-12 public education in New Orleans. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, as we did in 2020, we polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as those who homeschool their children. This brief in our 2021-2022 series provides insights into how those parents and guardians feel about a range of topics related to New Orleans' K-12 public education, including standardized testing, One App, communications, unions, school closures, and transportation. [For the second brief, "Cowen Institute Poll Brief: New Orleans Parents' Opinions on Public K-12 Education," see ED617506.]

Since 2007, the Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents, guardians, and the general public feel about the most relevant issues related to New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. In previous editions of the poll, we have presented all of the findings for a given year in a single comprehensive report. This year, to expedite the release of the most timely findings, we are releasing a series of briefs covering different topic areas. This is the second brief in that series and examines parents' and guardians' overall feelings about the quality and features of K-12 public education in New Orleans. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, as we did in 2020, we polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as those who homeschool their children. This brief provides insights into how those parents and guardians feel about a range of topics related to New Orleans' K-12 public education, including overall perceptions of New Orleans Public Schools (NOLA-PS, the local school board and authorizer for most charter schools in the city) and the performance of the city's charter schools. [For the first brief, "Cowen Institute Poll Brief: New Orleans Families' Response to COVID-19 in K-12 Education," see ED617505.]

Since 2007, the Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents, guardians, and the general public feel about the most relevant issues related to New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. In previous editions of the poll, we have presented findings for a given year in a single comprehensive report. However, this year, we will stagger the release of a series of topical briefs to prioritize the most timely findings. The first brief in the series examines perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted New Orleans students, families, schools, and educators -- a topic that was also a major focus of our 2020 poll. This brief provides insights into how those respondents feel about a range of topics related to COVID-19 and education, including vaccine and mask mandates, how schools have responded to the pandemic, as well as the impact of the pandemic on the lives of their children. Upcoming briefs will address respondents' attitudes towards other aspects of New Orleans public education system.

The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents and the general public feel about the highly decentralized K-12 public education system in New Orleans. Over time, we have monitored views on a wide range of topics, including school quality, governance, and the prevalence of charter schools in the city. Additionally, each poll has included questions specific and relevant to the particular year in which it was conducted. Given the ongoing tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's poll includes questions on how the pandemic has impacted New Orleans families and their ability to access education, including their experiences with: (1) remote and virtual learning; (2) returning to in-person learning; (3) the response of our local school district, New Orleans Public Schools (NOLA-PS), and individual schools to the crisis; and (4) the physical and mental health impacts of the virus. To capture the experiences and attitudes of a wide range of parents, we polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as well as those who home school their children. Public school parents and guardians made up the majority (78%) of our sample. We hope this year's poll provides insight into the educational experiences of New Orleans families during this unprecedented time.

For the past 12 years, the Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") on a near annual basis. During that time, the purpose, content, and audience of the report have evolved. This edition of the report is a snapshot of public education in the current academic year using aggregated data from publicly available sources to inform a wide audience that includes educators, families, and students, as well as policymakers and the general public. The authors believe that there is value in summarizing data on New Orleans education from publicly available sources and putting that together in one place. Doing so on a regular basis allows to track high-level descriptive information over time and serves as an archival piece in an ever-changing landscape. [Entergy New Orleans provided support for this report. For "The State of Public Education in New Orleans, 2018," see ED588875.]

This report provides an introduction to the role and responsibilities of charter boards in the New Orleans public education system. Geared towards families, it explains the difference between charter boards and the Orleans Parish School Board, provides a list of all operational charter boards in the city, and answers some common questions regarding charter boards' responsibilities.

The first few years after high school are often viewed as crucial, laying the groundwork for the rest of a young person's life. Decisions made between the ages of 18-24 often guide further steps in a young person's life and can influence their ability to establish a satisfying and financially sustaining career. With that in mind, our new site, cowendata.org, and the accompanying executive summary, aims to answer the question of what young people in New Orleans are doing after high school by looking at their educational and employment pathways. Specifically, cowendata.org and the executive summary work to answer some key questions we often hear with regards to young people's post-high-school lives: How many of New Orleans high school graduates continue their educational journeys and go to college, and when they do, for how long, and where? How many enter the workforce and find jobs? If they're working, in what industries are they employed and are they making a true living wage? What are the best economic opportunities available in New Orleans and nationally right now, and what may be the best opportunities five or ten years in the future? What skills do they need to take advantage of those possibilities?