The Teachers

This episode of Where the Schools Went examines one of the most explosive decisions in New Orleans’ post-Katrina story: the firing of every public school teacher in the city. The move devastated the city’s Black middle class and gutted one of the South’s most powerful teachers’ unions. What came next became a major source of contention. Some educators came back to rebuild their schools from scratch. Others never returned. Into that void stepped a group of idealistic newcomers – many young, many white, mostly from far away. Together, they transformed the city’s classrooms and ignited lasting debates over experience, identity, and what makes a great teacher.