After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans did something no other city had ever tried: it dismantled its entire school system. No school zones. No central offices. Even the local school board was sidelined In its place came a radical experiment in autonomy, where every school essentially ran on its own terms. But freedom had costs. Admissions were unfair. Students with disabilities often fell through the cracks. And parents were left confused about who was in charge. This episode of Where the Schools Went traces how New Orleans slowly stitched together something new: not by rebuilding the old system, but by deciding which parts were essential and trying to do those things uncommonly well.

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Where the Schools Went is an original podcast from The Branch in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠The 74⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠MeidasTouch⁠⁠⁠.

Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠wheretheschoolswent@thebranchmedia.org⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ at @thebranchmedia.