Beyond Katrina, designing a unique charter school in New Orleans: Community, pedagogy, governance, finance, and bureaucracy

This study is a qualitative, autoethnographic study documenting the process of writing and submitting a charter school application in Post-Katrina New Orleans. The focus of the study is my professional journey to this point, and the journey the charter team. The school’s mission and curriculum is unique and centered on special needs students who are “at-risk” for learning due to language and learning differences. Particular aspects of curriculum and instruction, climate and culture, professional development, student achievement goals, administration, and operational issues were developed by this team. The aim of the study is for this investigation to contribute to the body of knowledge about educating “at-risk” learners and designing innovative schools. The focus of the study is on the epistemological, methodological, and political insights encountered. The primary question for this investigation is: What are the components of a successful charter school for “at-risk” students? Secondary questions include: How do we determine who is “at-risk”? How do we balance state demands with best practice teaching for these “at-risk” students? Where does appropriate funding come from for such a project? Hopefully this narrow based study will lead to specific program improvement and evolvement.