“It's Not Easy Being Green”: Charter Schools, the Arts, and Students with Diverse Needs

Abstract

At the heart of current education reform is the charter school movement. Charter schools, their role in the New Orleans, Louisiana, educational community, and the effect of charter schools on students with special needs are the focus of this article. New Orleans, Louisiana, has the largest number of students attending public charter schools in the nation, and the struggle of one student, Noah, will illustrate some of the gaps in services that have been created by the new system. Unclear state guidelines, potentially exclusionary acceptance practices, school performance measures that emphasize typical performance in science and language, and lack of effective guidance have led to concerns regarding the equity of services for students with special needs. Potential solutions to these problems are identified and delineated. These include the creation of a central office to oversee special services, a requirement that charter school applicants outline their plan to address creative arts needs and special education needs, an increasing emphasis on arts as a part of school performance measurements, and increasing general awareness of the importance of creative arts in a competitive educational paradigm for all students, including those with special needs.