Abstract
Since 2005, New Orleans has proved fertile ground for the most extensive education reform movement in the United States. As such, the educational landscape in New Orleans is a highly contested space. Yet stakeholders across the pro/anti-charter divide lack a fully developed language that accommodates the multi-vocality of participants contributing to dialogue(s) around neoliberal reform and grappling with the fundamental ways in which public education connects to the democratic ideal. In light of this imbalance, participants in conversations have reified adversarial positions rather than engaged with the substantive issues that ultimately will determine the success of the neoliberal reform movement.