








Education experts say the perfect time for New Orleans Public School officials to search for a new leader is now as the school year winds down and superintendents finish out contracts in districts across the country.It is the end of the school year and one of the most active times for searches, said Terri Schwartzbeck, policy analyst for the Arlington, Va.-based American Association of School Administrators. NOPS Interim Superintendent Ora Watson resigned in March. Her contract expires July 20.It's the eighth time in 11 years the Orleans Parish School Board has had to search for a new superintendent.But unlike last year's search to replace Superintendent Anthony Amato, Hurricane Katrina brought a whole new challenge - finding someone to help rebuild a district.The awareness about New Orleans is very high, said Schwartzbeck. It's not like there's a situation that the school board would need to educate someone about. It's been abundantly written about, maybe even too abundantly. If anything (the district) is up against a lot of negative media.
