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DATE/ AUTHOR None	AUTHORS: Adam Nossiter

H Prominent Education Reformer to Lead New Orleans Schools

S1 Louisiana on Friday picked one of the nation's most prominent education reformers to run the troubled school district of New Orleans, as schools here continue to grapple with physical and administrative damage from Hurricane Katrina.

S2 The new superintendent, Paul G. Vallas, who is credited with changes in school systems in Chicago and, most recently, in Philadelphia, was chosen to take on what is seen as one of the more singular challenges in American education: creating a working school district where many of the buildings are ruined, many of the teachers are missing and thousands of students might return suddenly.
S3 When they do, they will be among the neediest -- the poorest and lowest-achieving -- in the nation.

S4 As a superintendent in Philadelphia and Chicago, Mr. Vallas raised test scores with the help of after-school programs, new schools and revised curricula.
S5 He is generally regarded by schools experts as one of the more energetic practitioners in the field.
S6 But speaking Friday in a shuttered school in the Lower Ninth Ward, he seemed to recognize the special difficulty of this task.

S7 ''I've got to start delivering right away,'' Mr. Vallas told reporters and state officials, including Gov.
S8 Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.
S9 ''We've got to get qualified people in the classrooms.
S10 We not only have the problem of deep poverty; we have the problem of children who have been traumatized.''

S11 In his remarks, he made it clear that the challenge posed by the New Orleans district was irresistible to a seasoned school professional.

S12 ''Why this job at this time?''
S13 Mr. Vallas said.
S14 ''You've got an opportunity to create a new school system.''

S15 Asked what his biggest immediate challenge would be, Mr. Vallas said: ''Facilities.
S16 Fixing schools.
S17 From what I've heard, it's facilities, facilities, facilities.
S18 Clearly the hurricane has done damage, but there has been neglect'' even before the storm.

S19 Mr. Vallas comes to a school district that has followed a tortuous path because of the hurricane and a storm of academic, financial and administrative problems it had before that: a revolving door of superintendents, millions in misspent federal money and test scores that were the lowest in the state.

S20 Because of those difficulties, the state took over the district after the hurricane in 2005.
S21 The district now consists of only 22 schools out of the original 128, with loose jurisdiction over an additional 17 charter schools.
S22 Another 17 schools are run or chartered by the Orleans Parish School Board, which once ran the entire district.
S23 The rest are closed.

S24 Mr. Vallas was chief executive for the school district in Philadelphia and earned generally high marks for his academic achievements, though a budget shortfall of $73 million cast a cloud over his tenure.

S25 He more than doubled fifth-grade math proficiency after arriving there in 2002, though gains in reading and in high school measures were smaller.
S26 In Chicago, where he was in charge of the schools from 1995 to 2001, similar gains were made.

S27 The success or failure of the school district in New Orleans is widely seen as an important symbol of the city's recovery.
S28 The challenge will be different from those Mr. Vallas has faced previously: more than half of fourth graders at nine schools in the district recently surveyed by Louisiana State University were below grade level in reading.
S29 At two schools, every fourth grader was below grade level in math.
S30 In one fourth-grade class, only 22 percent read at grade level.

S31 These difficulties were in addition to widely reported shortcomings the schools faced as they moved unsteadily through their first months last fall: lack of teachers, lack of textbooks, missing supplies and fighting.
S32 Robin Jarvis, the Baton Rouge official Governor Blanco chose to run the district, often seemed overwhelmed.
S33 Ms. Jarvis announced her resignation a few days ago.

S34 The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported this week that the district had spent barely a tenth of the $241 million allocated by the federal government to rebuild schools, and as a result was facing a shortage of classroom space to handle the influx of students expected later in the year.

S35 To accommodate up to 10,000 new students by the fall, said the state education superintendent, Paul G. Pastorek, the district needs to hire about 600 teachers, rebuild 10 schools and get prefabricated classrooms into shape.
S36 The challenge is sizable, he said: ''It is hard to get teachers to come to a hurricane-ravaged city.''

