increase equity, to increase empathy. >> reporter: when hurricane katrina hit in 2005, the public schools of new orleans were considered among the worst in the country. the storm damaged and destroyed most of the schools, including ones like this, abandoned for ten years. the state of louisiana seized more than 100 schools, fired about 7,50 teachers and turned the buildings over to independent school operators, or charters. >> there was a narrative that was created that somehow everything and everyone here was broken. >> reporter: but some community leaders say this experiment has destroyed community schooling and has disproportionately benefited whites over blacks. >> this brand of reform that has been employed in new orleans, and then touted across the nation as some kind of miracle, is simply not working. >> reporter: but a study by