NEW ORLEANS – Young Audiences Charter School (YACS), an open enrollment, arts-integrated K-7 grade charter school located at 1407 Virgil St. in Gretna, and authorized by the Jefferson Parish School Board, has joined the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools (GNOCCS), announced President Latoye Brown.
The GNOCCS is a nonprofit organization established in 2006 to ensure the sustainability and growth of high quality public charter schools in the Greater New Orleans Area in order to offer families a choice among high quality educational programs, reps said.
“Our collaborative is a strong, interactive alliance which helps charters from the metro New Orleans area protect their structures, durability and operations,” said President Brown. “We are excited to welcome another charter dedicated to strong academic standards to our group.”
GNOCCS schools are independently run by local nonprofit boards and are grounded in their local communities, reps said. Young Audiences Charter School (YACS) at Kate Middleton in Gretna is an open-enrollment, arts-integrated charter school in Jefferson Parish serving more than 700 Creative Learners in Kindergarten through seventh grade with plans to expand to high school, adding a grade each year.
“We are thrilled to be a member of the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools,” said School Leader Brandon House. “We know our membership will only strengthen our school academically and operationally and we look forward to this partnership.”
GNOCCS is directed by Dr. Ken Ducote who facilitates services among the member schools, thereby helping them reduce costs by exploring economies of scale, sharing resources, building greater organizational capabilities, and helping schools navigate local, state and federal educational regulations and activities.
Young Audiences joins the other member schools, which are Audubon Charter School, Benjamin Franklin High School, Hynes Charter School, International High School of New Orleans (IHSNO), International School of Louisiana (ISL), Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy, Lusher Charter School, New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School, Morris Jeff Community School and Warren Easton Charter High.
Founded in 2013 by Young Audiences of Louisiana, a nonprofit that operates after-school, arts-integrated programs in conjunction with schools and learning centers, the Young Audiences Charter School’s mission is to bring the benefits of a holistic, arts-integrated education to the children of Jefferson Parish.
Citing the success and proven results of arts-based educational programming in Louisiana and nationwide, YACS is determined to meet the academic and social needs of the whole child through a rigorous curriculum founded in state content standards that actively engages students’ innate creativity, said School Leader Brandon House, reps said.
Young Audiences of Louisiana is an affiliate of the National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Network, which includes 32 affiliates across the country. Young Audiences Charter School at Kate Middleton uses the best of that network's proven curriculum to provide students with rigorous and engaging academic experiences.
