特许学校

　　Big, not easy

　　大，但并不简单

　　Revolution and innovation in some of America's toughest neighbourhoods

　　美国的一些“老大难”街区的改革和创新

　　AS PUPILS file into their classroom at Kipp Renaissance, a high school in a battered corner of north-east New Orleans, each one stops to shake the hand of a history teacher. “Changes”, a rap song by Tupac about the struggles of being poor and black in America, plays quietly in the background. Within a minute or two, the dozen teenagers—all black—are busily filling in test papers. Soon afterwards, Mr Kullman, the teacher, begins rapping himself—hopping around the room demanding quick-fire answers to questions about the civil war. Pupils shout back answers in chorus.

　　知力复兴（Kipp Renaissance）高中座落在新奥尔良东北角的一个破旧的角落里，那儿小学生们排队进入他们的教室，每个人还要停下来和历史老师握手。“改变”，是一首来自Tupac的饶舌歌曲，悄然地播放在校园中，讲述关于在美国穷困的黑人如何生存。几分钟内，那群黑人青少年就忙于填写测试答卷。很快，考尔曼老师开始开始唱起Rap，在教室里小幅跳动着，要求学生快速回答关于内战的问题。学生们则不整齐地回答出来。

　　特许学校.jpg

　　Kipp Renaissance is one of New Orleans's newer high schools. Since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, only six traditional public schools, directly run by the city, remain. Instead 94% of pupils now attend charter schools, which are publicly funded but run by independent non-profit organisations such as Kipp (in full, the “Knowledge is Power Programme”).

　　知力复兴高中是新奥尔良市一所历史较短的高中。自从2005年卡特里娜飓风袭击后，直属市辖的高中仅剩下六所传统的公立学校。取而代之的是94%的小学生现在都报名特许学校，这些学校是由公众资助，但由独立非盈利性组织例如知力经营（全称是，“知识就是力量项目”）。

　　Change began in 2003, when Louisiana created a Recovery School District (RSD) to take over and turn around failing schools across the state. Katrina dramatically accelerated the process: the RSD now controls most schools in New Orleans. Since 2008 alone, it has closed about 50 and presided over the opening of an equal number of charters. The district organises admissions and expulsions, and helps allocate school buildings. But staffing, teacher training, transport, catering and much else are left in the hands of schools and the charter chains which run them.

　　改变从2003年开始了，那时路易斯安那州创办了一个叫复原学校街区（RSD）组织，目的是取代并扭转整个州立失败的教育。卡特里娜飓风戏剧性地加速了这一进程：RSD现在经营新奥尔良市大部分学校。从2008年一年来说，它关闭了将近50所学校并主持开班了同样数量的特许学校。街区制定了准入令和驱逐令，帮助分配学校建筑。但是员工雇佣，教师培训，交通，饮食提供和很多其他的事情都被下放到学校掌管，连锁的特许学校经营它们。

　　A decade ago, teachers in New Orleans were demoralised. The city's school district had eight different superintendents in the decade to 2005, none of whom managed to curb corruption or control waste. Affluent whites had fled the system: before Katrina New Orleans was roughly 67% black and 28% white, yet only 6% of public-school pupils were not black.

　　十年前，新奥尔良市的老师士气低沉。市里学校街区竟在2005年之前十年有八个主管，没有人遏制腐败或是控制浪费。富裕的白人则逃离这一系统：在卡特里娜飓风来临之前新奥尔良市有大概67%的黑人和28%的白人，然而只有6%的公公学校的学生不是黑人。

　　Under the new regime, schools have sharply improved. In 2004 just 16.5% of pupils in New Orleans's schools beat Louisiana's state performance score; by the end of the most recent school year, 31.1% did, according to the Cowen Institute at Tulane University. High-school graduation rates have risen from 55% before Katrina to 73% now; drop-out rates have fallen by half.

　　在新策略下，学校则大幅改观。2004年，新奥尔良市只有16.5%的小学生达到了路易斯安那州成绩考核；在最新的学年里，根据杜兰大学科文中心数据，31.1%的学生做到了。高中毕业生比例从卡特里娜前的55%增至现在73%；辍学人数则下降了一半。

　　After Katrina, most of New Orleans's 7,500 unionised teachers were, in effect, fired. Charter schools have hired some back—but they have also hired plenty of new, young ambitious teachers, often straight out of college, who work the long days and extra hours without complaint.

　　在卡特里娜之后，新奥尔良市7,500名教师中大部分实际上被解雇。特许学校返聘了一部分回来——但他们也雇佣了很多新的、年轻有志的老师们，通常是刚从大学毕业，可以工作很久、加班没有怨言。

　　The ability to choose a school matters less than you might expect. Autonomy and central scrutiny matter more. New Orleans's charter schools are probably more closely watched than public schools ever were, and those that fail to meet targets do not get their charters renewed. With academic targets set centrally, schools tend to agree on what works best.

　　择校能力仅仅和你可能预想中的部分相关。自治权和中央审核关联更大。新奥尔良市的特许学校可能会比以前的公公学校受更紧的监察，那些无法达标的学校无法更新特许证件。将完成学术目标设立为中心，学校倾向于许可工作最好的部分。

　　The challenge now is whether improvement can be sustained. On national tests, Louisiana still comes last or nearly last on a range of measures. What the state deems “mastery” of a subject barely passes for acceptable in other states: by the standards of Massachusetts or Maine, schools in New Orleans remain terrible. Middle-class whites still mostly send their children to private schools.

　　现在面临的困难是进步能否被保持住。在国家性考试中，路易斯安那州仍然垫底或是在一定范围检测里将近垫底。这个州里被认为是高级学科的课程在其他州仅仅被认为是可以接受的课程：通过对比马萨诸塞州和缅因州，新奥尔良的学校仍然很渣。中产阶级白人们仍然可能将他们的孩子送往私立学校。

　　One worry is money. Before Katrina, spending per pupil in New Orleans was 7,900 per year, about the same as in Louisiana at large. Last year the figure was 12,797—much more than the state average. Federal money, doled out to help rebuild after the hurricane, now pays for repairing almost all the city's school buildings. But it will not last for ever.

　　另一担心则是钱的问题。卡特里娜之前，每个小学生身上每年花销7,900刀，路易斯安那州每个小学生基本相同。去年这个数字是12,797刀—远远超出其他州平均水准。用于救助灾后重建的联邦拨款现在正应付着修建城里的学校建筑。但是这不会持续到永远。

　　At some point, the city's overworked teachers may begin to struggle. Some critics say reform has been imposed paternalistically by white reformers on black communities, and so has only limited support. Yet in a vote on December 6th a new tax for school maintenance was easily approved by the city's voters. They, and their children, seem to like what they are getting.

　　某些观点上，城里过度劳累的老师们可能开始抗议。一些批评家认为改革是白人改革者家长式作风，强加于黑人社区，而且支持效果有限。然而在11月6日的城市投票中，针对学校维修的新税法投票中被轻易审核批准。他们以及他们的子女看来是喜欢正享受的东西。