After the storm, New Orleans faced two urgent questions: Which schools would be rebuilt, and who would be trusted to run them? In the second episode of Where the Schools Went, we follow the story of George Washington Carver High School, a beloved anchor of New Orleans’ Ninth Ward that became ground zero for post-Katrina education fights. When the state handed the school’s future to a group of idealistic outsiders, protests erupted, students walked out, and a painful clash over culture and mission unfolded. But within Carver’s four walls, something beautiful began to grow. We trace that bumpy path and draw lessons that extend far beyond one school.

--

Where the Schools Went is an original podcast from The Branch in partnership with ⁠The 74⁠ and ⁠MeidasTouch⁠.

Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ or follow us on ⁠X⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ at @thebranchmedia.

Years before the levees failed, New Orleans’ public schools were already in crisis. The corruption was so entrenched that the FBI even set up shop inside the district. The first episode of Where the Schools Went uncovers how decades of mismanagement and neglect turned New Orleans into a cautionary tale long before Hurricane Katrina ever made landfall, and how it set the stage for what would come after. We also follow a group of educators who fled to Houston in the aftermath of the storm and built a school for displaced students. And then we follow them – and their students – back to a city and school system struggling to rebuild.

--

Where the Schools Went is an original podcast from The Branch in partnership with The 74 and MeidasTouch.

Let us know what you think of the show! Email us at [email protected] or follow us on X and Instagram at @thebranchmedia.

August 2025 marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina altered New Orleans forever. Much has been written about the storm’s destruction and the city’s long road to recovery. But tucked behind those headlines is another story. One that shaped the lives of thousands of children.

From The Branch in partnership with The 74 and MeidasTouch, Where the Schools Went is a five-part documentary series about what happened to the city’s schools after the levees broke, and how it led to the most radical education experiment in modern American history.

The first episode drops next Tuesday, August 12!