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First. I recently visited New Orleans to take a look at the most ambitious effort at education reform anywhere in the country. The city’s schools certainly still have problems, but the progress in the nearly 13 years since Hurricane Katrina has nonetheless been remarkable. New Orleans offers a positive story during a dispiriting time in American life.

I think the main lesson is that schools can thrive when teachers and principals are given more freedom — and also held more accountable for their results. I hope you’ll read the column. It’s the first of two I’ll be writing about New Orleans.

If you want to dig into the details, I recommend the work of Tulane’s Education Research Alliance for New Orleans.