Reborn: New Orleans Schools                                                                     

Mobile Digital Arts is producing its first feature length documentary. Entitled Reborn: New Orleans Schools, and shot in high definition, this documentary chronicles the first official year of public school in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The centerpiece is the charter school movement and its effort to radically transform the delivery of education for the Crescent City’spublic school children, most of whom are African American and many of whom would
otherwise still be attending some of the worst performing schools in the nation.

The whole country – in particular, cities with troubled public school systems – are watching closely to see how this daring experiment plays out. Indeed, New Orleans’ bold approach may provide an enlightening model – or a cautionary tale as the case may be - to other troubled districts.

During this crucial, delicate period—one in which New Orleans residents must also respond daily to the additional demands that come from rebuilding their homes, lives and communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - the question remains:

How will school leaders, teachers, students, and families use their new-found power?