Mays Prep Welcomes Inaugural Class

August 2009

"All the hard work that has gone into the formation of the school has finally come to fruition. Scholars are in the building and they are actively engaged in learning. As gratifying as it will be to see this everyday here at Mays Prep, it's also obvious that we're part of something much bigger."- Principal Duke Bradley

August 12, 2009 marked the first day of school for Mays Prep's inaugural class. Students in kindergarten, first, and second grades entered the halls of the school as their smiling teachers greeted them into their classrooms. All who walked through the building could sense the contagious energy that punctuates the beginning of a founding year.

Although August 12 marked the first day of school for Mays Prep, it also marked a significant moment in the historic transformation of New Orleans public schools. The destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 provided the opportunity for the city of New Orleans to rethink a failing public education system, and the state recruited Paul Vallas to become superintendent of the newly created Recovery School District. Vallas, who had previously renewed the school systems in Philadelphia and Chicago, focused on a program that would provide more autonomy to individual schools through fostering the creation of charter schools.

Mays Prep is one such charter school, a transformation charter charged with the task of gradually converting a previously failing school into a successful one. Over ninety percent of the students who entered Mays Prep's doors on the first day of school had previously attended Carver Elementary School. As students from the historic 9th Ward entered their new building, however, they proudly wore the maroon and white uniform bearing the distinctive Mays Prep insignia that symbolized their new school.

Mays Prep's work is part of a larger movement in New Orleans' public education reform, which shows signs of success. In a recent CNN interview, Vallas articulated one facet of these successes, "In the Recovery School District alone in the last two years we saw an increase in test scores in every subject at every grade level." Other signs of success include active parent engagement at school meetings, as well as renewed interest on the part of community organizations like Desire Street Ministries.

Mays Prep principal Duke Bradley summarizes the meaning of the first day at Mays Prep. "All the hard work that has gone into the formation of the school has finally come to fruition. Scholars are in the building and they are actively engaged in learning. As gratifying as it will be to see this everyday here at Mays Prep, it's also obvious that we're part of something much bigger."