Attendance is critical to be successful at school. This page shares resources for some of the common challenges that can get in the way of strong attendance at school. Resources listed include supports from NOLAPS, community partners, and the City of New Orleans that can help you and your family make every day at school great.
School plays a key role in children’s development, and attendance is critical to be successful at school. Mental health, physical health, safety issues, and social factors all can cause students to be chronically absent from school. Mental health encompasses social, emotional, and behavioral health and the ability to cope with life’s challenges. Mentally healthy children are more successful in school and life. Research demonstrates that students who receive social–emotional and mental health support achieve better academically. School climate, classroom behavior, on-task learning, and students’ sense of connectedness and well-being all improve as well. To support families in accessing support for their children highlighted here are a few community resource providers: Family Solutions of Louisiana (FSL), Crescent Community Outreach, and National Child and Family Services. Family Solutions of Louisiana (FSL) 2601 Tulane Ave, Suite 610 New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone Number: 504-454-3740 Crisis Intervention Lines available 24/7 Adult Line: 225-924-3900 Parents & Youth Line: 1-800-244-3736 FSL is a community based mental health rehabilitation agency located in Mid-City New Orleans. FSL provides services to children, adolescents, and adults within the home, school, and/or office setting. FSL provides crisis intervention, community integration, case management services, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, psychosocial rehabilitation services, and outpatient therapy for children, adolescents, and adults. Crescent Community Outreach (CCO) 7240 Crowder Blvd, Suite 400 New Orleans, LA 70127 Phone Number: 504-323-3440 CCO is a community based mental health rehabilitation agency located in New Orleans East. CCO provides mental health services to children, adolescents, and adults within the home, school, and/or office setting. CCO provides community supportive counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation services, crisis intervention and management, medication management and psychiatric evaluation services for all clients. National Child and Family Services (NCFS) 824 Elmwood Park Blvd, Suite 135 New Orleans, LA 70123 Phone Number: 504-266-2576 NCFS is the wraparound facilitating agency for New Orleans and surrounding parishes. NCFS provides wraparound services for families of children who have complex behavioral health needs and are either in or at risk of out-of-home placement. (e.g. foster homes, group homes, juvenile detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers) NCFS facilitators assist families with connecting to mental health agencies within their community, parent support, youth support, independent living skills building, and short-term respite services.
Every day, millions of people are faced with the uncertainty of when they will eat their next meal. Food insecurity occurs when nutritional intake or eating patterns are disrupted due to limited resources or a lack of access to food. Various life factors can put families at risk of food insecurity, such as loss of employment, lack of transportation, limited local access to food, changes in a caregiver's psychological well-being, or the presence of a disability. Due to measures put in place to contain and stop the spread of COVID-19, many families were and are impacted financially. Food insecurity, including temporary exposure to food insecurity, during pediatric development is likely to have a negative impact on the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of a child. In addition to these outcomes, food insecurity has the strong potential to present as a form of trauma in a child's life. Childhood stressors can be cumulative and chronic, and many consequences of food insecurity have implications for individuals beyond childhood and across their life-span development. Students who attend school daily receive breakfast and lunch and some schools have local partnerships for expanded access to food beyond the school day. Second Harvest Food Bank Second Harvest Food Bank leads the fight against hunger in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food and support to 700+ community partners and programs across 23 parishes. Our staff and volunteers distribute the equivalent of more than 32 million meals to 210,000+ people a year. You can find more information about Second Harvest’s current services on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Get Help page outlines their opportunities for food access each week including Community Pantry-Partners, Food Distribution Sites, and an Emergency Pantry. You can also access the Public Assistance Helpline at 1-855-392-9338 or email help@secondharvest.org. Total Community Action TCA’s mission is to reduce poverty in our community through collaboration with other agencies by providing human services, experiences, and opportunities that move persons from poverty to self-sufficiency. You can find more information about Total Community Action’s current services on their website, Facebook, and Twitter. The TCA Community Services page outlines their current services including an Emergency Food Pantry and Commodity Distribution Program. You can reach them by phone (504) 872-0334 or in person at their office, located at 1410 South Norman C. Francis Pkwy, New Orleans, LA 70125. NOLA Public Schools As a part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Orleans Public Schools created a Community Feeding Program to ensure families have access to food regardless of if students are reporting to school for in-person learning or doing distance learning. 20 locations serve meals free of charge to children under the age of 18, regardless of what school they are enrolled in. Please note that distribution times vary. You can see an interactive map of the sites on the Covid-19 Updates page of our website.
Students experiencing homelessness are chronically absent from school at a rate at least twice that of the overall student population, and significantly more often than their housed, low-income peers. The mobility, poverty, and trauma associated with homelessness affects students’ emotional and physical health, hygiene, preparedness for school, transportation options, and other factors that increase absenteeism. Chronic absences increase the likelihood that a student will drop out of high school, which increases the likelihood they experience homelessness as young adults. Not completing high school is the greatest single risk factor for young adult homelessness. To support youth and families in accessing housing support highlighted here are a few community resource providers: Covenant House and UNITY of Greater New Orleans Covenant House (CHNOLA) is much more than “just a shelter,” and provides supportive counseling and the tools needed to help youth become independent, productive members of our community. CHNOLA’s offers programming and services in Crisis Care & Stable Housing; Education, Employment, and Life Skills; Health and Wellness; and Outreach. Covenant House Information can be found on their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram UNITY of Greater New Orleans is a nonprofit organization leading a collaborative of over 60 agencies providing housing and services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. Our mission is to coordinate community partnerships to prevent, reduce, and end homelessness. UNITY’s programs include: UNITY of Greater New Orleans Information can be found on their Website, Facebook, and Twitter.
One reason some students have challenges attending school is the need to work and provide for their families. New Orleans has many effective job training programs that are available to students over the summer and during the school year outside school hours. Some opportunities are even hybrid learning and job training programs. These programs offer students a chance to build skills that are very marketable for the industries our city is known best for. #WakeUpAndLearn The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) offers two programs that are a great fit for youth who are struggling to be successful in traditional school settings between the ages of 16-24. You can get more information about YEP on their website, Facebook @YEPNOLA , Twitter @YEPNOLA , and Instagram @YEPNOLA. The New Orleans Career Center is our city’s hub for high quality technical education, training skilled and prepared graduates for a lifetime of opportunities, advancement, and success. The New Orleans Career Center (the Career Center) is a nonprofit initiative providing high school and adult students access to career and technical education training and academic coursework to earn industry-based credentials (IBCs) for employment in high-wage, high-demand industry sectors. Through community and industry collaboration, New Orleans Career Center provides two types of programming: You can get more information about NOCC on their website, Facebook @NOLACC , and Twitter @NOCareerCenter. Operation Spark is opening a new door to prosperity for low-opportunity individuals by presenting the fastest route to a career in software development. At Operation Spark, we learn to write software using industrial tools, writing actual apps, working in an awesome team environment, while becoming self-sufficient by taking an autodidactic approach to higher education and problem solving. The skills involved in building mobile video games and apps are quite varied, including application design, game mechanics and user experience, visual and sound design, computer engineering of various sorts, quality assurance, project, product and cost management, content management and public relations of all kinds. And each of these skills lead to careers, careers with futures - for example, an entry level quality assurance analyst is a well paying position, and can lead to management or a career as a UX designer. The High School to High Wage program provides an introduction to computer programming and is designed for students with little to no prior experience in coding. It aims to teach students the core concepts of computer programming, basic front-end web development skills, and provides students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems. You can get more information about Operation Spark on their website, Facebook @OpSpark, and Twitter @OperationSpark. Liberty’s Kitchen provides pathways for New Orleans young people to create and achieve their vision of success. Food–at the heart of our city’s economy, culture, and future–is our chosen vehicle for change. The Liberty’s Kitchen Youth Development Program is a 3-month work readiness intensive designed for New Orleans youth between the ages of 16-24, who are out of work and out of school. The program provides participants with technical and transferable skills training in a real work environment. Our team addresses barriers to employment ranging from housing, to mental health care access, to transportation. The objective of the Youth Development Program is to develop graduates with a sense of purpose and the skills, tools and opportunities to thrive in gainful employment. The program includes: You can get more information about Liberty’s Kitchen on their website, Facebook @LibertysKitchen, Twitter @LibertysKitchen, and Instagram @LibertysKitchen. Reconcile New Orleans transforms the lives of young adults (ages 16-24) and the community through the ministry of reconciliation. We do this by encouraging personal growth, providing workforce development and training, promoting entrepreneurship, working with businesses, nonprofits and people of faith to support this transformation, and building strong communities through community economic development. Reconcile’s students arrive facing a vast array of challenges, from extreme poverty and high school attrition to homelessness, violence, and participation in the juvenile justice system. Nonetheless, these young people possess a deep desire to break the cycle and become productive, contributing members of society. Cafe’ Reconcile’s paid job training program equips young adults age 16 – 24 years old with the skills and support services any professional needs to be successful. The program includes hands on job training and life skills classes, a competitive stipend, transportation support, proper industry uniform and footwear, daily intern meals, and employment counseling. Students learn: Throughout the program, we’ll help you connect to a variety of support services including mental health counseling, child care assistance, housing assistance, legal aid, and health care navigation. You can get more information about Cafe Reconcile on their website, Facebook @CafeReconcile , Twitter @CafeReconcile, or Instagram @CafeReconcile.
Keeping the learning going in summer is important every year, but it’s especially important this summer since the pandemic has interrupted our school year. Whatever type of experience you’re looking for this summer, students have options! Schools and partner organizations are offering academic support, enrichment, arts, sports, and many types of specialized programs. School Programs When you’re looking for a summer learning program or camp, the best place to start is with your school! Most NOLAPS schools are offering summer programs that include academic content (often taught by the school’s teachers) as well as some type of enrichment. Check out your school’s website or ask the principal about summer learning options. NORDC Programs NORDC, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, is one of the top providers of summer camp experiences in the city of New Orleans. Check out their website for lots of youth and teen program choices across the city. Youth program offerings include something for everyone such as academic enrichment, dance, arts, swimming, STEM, athletics, culture, theater, and more. NORDC Teen Camps offer local teenagers ages 13-15 career exploration and job preparation skills as well as financial literacy training and character development. Breakfast, lunch and field trips are provided. Additionally, teens earn a stipend of $75 per week over a six week period. City of New Orleans Program NOLA Youth Works provides quality summer experiences that build a pipeline to career opportunities for local youth ages 16-21. The focus of the summer employment program is to expose participants to careers of interest with the intention of creating a career ready workforce. Youth will earn while they gain experience to define their career goals.
