Students themselves have often been the most eloquent critics of the RSD system. "It's a prison," says Jerenise Walker of the FIYA youth squad, who attends John McDonogh high school in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. "I counted thirteen metal detectors and not one book," Jerenise reported after her first day of school in September. Books in many classes had still not arrived in October, putting children at a critical disadvantage in state-mandated LEAP tests. "If we fail this they are going to say we're dumb," complained Jerenise. Working conditions have become much worse for teachers as well. Last fall's state takeover effectively broke the teacher's union in New Orleans, United Teachers of New Orleans. UTNO was the largest union in the state of Louisiana, a so-called "right to work" state, and teaching was a source of stable, moderately well paying work for large numbers of African-American women.