CSGF Portfolio Spotlight: InspireNOLA Charter Schools
“We believed it would take several months to change the school culture. But, one month in, we had already achieved this goal.” —Jamar McKneely, CEO, InspireNOLA Charter Schools
In 2015, Andrew Wilson Charter School in New Orleans was among the worst-performing schools in Louisiana. After just one year as an InspireNOLA school, Wilson progressed from an F rating to a C, and its students made the highest reading gains in New Orleans. Jamar McKneely, CEO of InspireNOLA Charter Schools, sat down with CSGF partner Eric Chan to talk about turnaround schools, culture change, and community empowerment.
Eric: At CSGF, we’ve learned that transforming failing schools is one of the most challenging things a charter network can do. Why did you decide to take on the turnaround at Wilson?
Jamar: Our kids in New Orleans are facing significant trauma, especially after the devastation they experienced from Hurricane Katrina a decade ago. While InspireNOLA schools had strong results, we felt an obligation to empower every child in our city through a great education. The 600 kids at Wilson were no different. When we saw how parents and the community rallied to have InspireNOLA lead their school, that inspired us even more.
Eric: With just five months from Wilson’s approval to the start of school, you had a lot to do in a short amount of time. What did you get right during this time?
Jamar: Our first priority was finding the right leadership. We cast a wide net over New Orleans and found four strong leaders to form the Wilson team. That was key.
We also documented what our school culture and academic approach would look like based on what worked at our A-rated flagship school, Alice Harte. Our goal was to create a culture of high academic expectations, while also supporting students’ emotional and social needs.
Before the school year started, we put our teachers and staff through a two-week boot camp to help them understand our plans to transform the school. We shared our vision and trained them on how we would get there, even down to how students would transition in and out of classrooms and through the halls.
Eric: What was most surprising to you that first year at Wilson?
Jamar: We believed it would take several months to change the school culture and get students bought in. But one month in, we had already achieved this goal. The challenge then became how to dramatically improve the school academically — something we weren’t expecting to do so quickly. The focus of our conversations with teachers shifted from “How do we build a positive culture?” to “How do we provide rigorous and engaging lessons?”
We made great strides at Wilson in our first year, but we’re not satisfied — our goal is to be an A-rated school. Everyone has had to raise their expectations. This year, we’ve started to ask more challenging questions of students in classrooms and on exams to help them develop intellectually. We’ve transitioned from a culture focused on compliance to one where students, parents, and teachers all are pushing students to reach their highest potential.
Eric: In addition to running great schools, you’ve hosted some very powerful events in the community recently. Why were these events important to you and the broader New Orleans community you serve?
Jamar: I often ask myself how we can become more successful when it comes to our community. Last year we had Congressman John Lewis visit us to share his personal story, and we also hosted an event where Sybrina Fulton spoke about the tragedy that happened to her son Trayvon Martin. If we have A-rated schools with kids graduating from college, but they come back to New Orleans and get murdered in the streets, what have we accomplished? We hosted these events because we want our students to understand how they can become great citizens and to imagine who they can become.
CSGF made a $2.5 million commitment in 2014 to support InspireNOLA Charter Schools as it grows from a network with two schools and 1,700 students to one with four schools and more than 3,200 students.
