NEW ORLEANS – Following the recent release of school performance scores by the Louisiana Department of Education, the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) is celebrating the citywide academic progress made by all Orleans Parish schools. Analysts say the data shows stable citywide school performance scores, indicating steady progress with the transition to new standards within the New Orleans education system.
“On behalf of OPSB, we are impressed by the hard work and dedication displayed by the students, staff and educators of schools in the city of New Orleans,” Superintendent of Orleans Parish Public Schools Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. said. “This progress serves as a significant stride toward the betterment of schools citywide and the future of our students.”
Analysts say he data underscores open-enrollment schools, Edna Karr High School and Warren Easton Charter High School, improvement to ‘A’ school letter grades, ultimately enabling more student access to high quality seats. The data also indicates the outstanding growth of New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School, also known as “SciHigh.” Additionally, school performance scores for Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, Ben Franklin Elementary School and Eleanor McMain Secondary School improved, according to the report.
The data further highlighted the accomplishments of Edward Hynes Charter School and Alice M. Harte Charter School as the only open enrollment elementary and middle schools in New Orleans with ‘A’ letter grades at each. Moreover, 12 OPSB schools earned progress points for growth among non-proficient students.
“I am very proud of the progress we have made in Orleans Parish public schools,” Superintendent Lewis said. “This growth represents a meaningful impact on so many of our students’ lives, students for whom a solid education and college access is now a reality. While a tremendous amount of work remains to be done, we commend our educators and students on this milestone as we continue providing an excellent education, along with college and career readiness, for every Orleans Parish student, in every school, every day.”
The data specifies that OPSB improved its district performance score to 109.6, earning the second highest score in the state of Louisiana and retaining its ‘A’ grade. This district performance score was bolstered by the performance of Benjamin Franklin Charter High School, Lusher Charter School, Lake Forest Elementary Charter School and Audubon Charter School — the top four public school performance scores in the city of New Orleans. Of particular note is Benjamin Franklin Charter High School, which continues to be the highest performing school in the state of Louisiana.