International School of Louisiana Opened in Hollygrove A tuition-free, public charter school the International School of Louisiana (ISL) serves 1,411 students in K through 8th grade out of three campuses in Orleans Parish —Dixon, Uptown and Westbank.
ISL’s Dixon campus opened in 2017 after the school acquired the former Bethune building at 4040 Eagle Street and closed its Jefferson Parish campus. At that time, the Uptown campus was restructured to serve grades 3 through 8.
The school’s Dixon campus serves 399 students in kindergarten through 2nd grade (French and Spanish immersion); the Uptown campus serves 689 students (French and Spanish immersion), and the Westbank campus serves 323 students (Spanish immersion).
“We are excited to be a part of the Hollygrove-Dixon neighborhood,” said Melanie Tennyson, head of school for ISL. “The neighbors and the neighborhood association have been welcoming, and our families and students are enjoying their new school building.”
OPENING
John F. Kennedy High School Welcomes First Class in 13 Years
This fall John F. Kennedy High School (6026 Paris Ave.) finally reopened to students since its closure following Hurricane Katrina. The school was previously known as Lake Area New Tech Early College High School.
Audubon Charter Name Change and New Location Audubon Schools, formerly Audubon Charter School, is a newly formed charter management organization in New Orleans. Audubon Schools currently operates two schools on three campuses that are all located in New Orleans: Audubon Charter School – Uptown and Audubon Charter School – Gentilly.
Audubon Charter School – Uptown, known as “Audubon Uptown,” is an elementary school that features two programs, Montessori and French. Audubon Uptown is an affiliate member of the American Montessori Society and is the only public elementary school in Louisiana accredited by the French Ministry of National Education in Pre-K through 8th grades.
In response to what the school said was “overwhelming demand,” Audubon opened a new school, Audubon Charter School – Gentilly, August 22 at the former Gentilly Terrace school site. Audubon Gentilly features a Montessori French Immersion academic model. Students receive instruction from a Montessori-certified head teacher and a French-speaking co-teacher. There are currently 170 students enrolled in grades Pre-K(4) – 2, with plans to add a Pre-K(3) program in the coming weeks. The school will add one grade level per year until it serves over 400 students in grades Pre-K(3) – 8.
Audubon Schools focuses on cultivating the “whole child” through individualized learning, multicultural and language exposure, and an emphasis on arts education. Students are taught to be actively and purposefully involved in their education.
Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans to Start Construction French charter school Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans purchased the historic Alfred C. Priestley Junior High School building at 1619 Leonidas Street in 2015 to be the future of home of the school’s upper grades. The school currently serves Pre-K through 8th grade at two campuses — Pre-K through 2nd grade at 5951 Patton Street and 3rd through 8th grades at the Johnson Campus at 1800 Monroe Street. The school will be adding a grade level each year through t12th grade. It will be the first open enrollment French Pre-K-through-12th-grade public school. Graduating students will have the opportunity to earn both a Louisiana high school diploma and a French Baccalaureat.
Construction on the Priestley campus, which has been shuttered since 1993, is will possibly begin next year and will be led by architectural firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple.
University of Holy Cross Expands with New Residence Hall The University of Holy Cross (UHC) expanded this fall with the addition of a newly built residence hall on campus for both local and out-of-state students. The $14 million, 60,000-square-foot residence hall, located on the east side of campus on Woodland Drive in Algiers, began construction in late summer 2017 with a move-in date of August 12, 2018. The residence hall, built by The McDonnell Group, can accommodate up to 150 student-residents when totally occupied. This is the first newly constructed building on UHC’s campus since the A&P lab in 2004.
The building offers fully furnished single private rooms with a bath, as well as several two-and four-bedroom units with a kitchen and living area. Students living in the single rooms provide their own mini refrigerators, but a full-size refrigerator is provided in all other units. All areas have keypads that restrict access to residents. The residence hall also houses two study halls and a community kitchen, living room, prayer and meditation room, fitness center, laundry, and mailroom facilities.
UHC’s residence hall is the first university residence hall on the Westbank in New Orleans history.
OPENING
Delgado Community College Opens New Campus
When Delgado Community College cut the ribbon to open a $27.3 million workforce-education campus in Avondale in August, the west Jefferson Parish location became the seventh for the 97-year-old New Orleans institution. Enrolling more than 20,000 students, Delgado is the largest public college in Louisiana.
However, efforts are underway to increase the college’s enrollment because Delgado’s leaders believe the need for affordable, accessible, accredited post-secondary education in the region is stronger than ever.
While faculty and staff development have been challenging during 10 consecutive years of the state’s lean higher-education operational budgets, facilities improvements have continued due to funding availability for capital projects. At the flagship Delgado campus on City Park Avenue, the past five years have seen the opening of a state-of-the-art library, a business-focused learning center and a workforce education center. To the east, a campus to replace and expand the Katrina-ruined Sidney Collier location opened in 2014, and an award-winning international maritime and industrial training center opened in 2017.
As Delgado grows and improves, so does the opportunity for residents and employers to benefit from “Education that works!”— the college’s slogan and mission.
