(New Orleans – March 24, 2023) — NOLA Public Schools and its community of schools have embarked on a plan to best optimize its highest quality facilities for students after recent data showed New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole can expect smaller student bodies in the coming years.
Today, NOLA-PS Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams announced her decision to re-site four school programs as part of an ongoing multi-year District optimization plan.
The following school programs will move their operations to the following facilities for the 2023-2024 school year:
●ReNEW Therapeutic Program and Early Childhood Programming will occupy and operate Edgar P. Harney facility (2503 Willow, New Orleans, LA 70113).
●International High School of New Orleans will occupy and operate the Albert Dent building (2733 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70119)
●Morris Jeff Community School (PK4-12 grades) will occupy and operate the Williams Frantz Building (3811 N Galvez St, New Orleans, LA 70117).
●Elan Academy (PK4-7 grades) will occupy and operate the Rosenwald campus (36501 Berkley Dr, New Orleans, LA 70131)
The Harney and Dent facility siting recommendations were made after careful review and evaluation of NOLA-PS' public siting application process to determine the optimal qualified operator for each facility. When such school facilities become available, the District creates a set of eligibility standards and siting objectives to meet the needs of the District.
For this public facility siting process, the District created the following siting objectives:
●Increase the quality of our overall school facility portfolio.
●Maximize efficient use of high-quality school facilities.
●Improve the overall educational experience of students.
"I believe ReNEW and International High School will maximize the use of the Harney and Dent campuses and help fulfill the district's goal of optimizing its portfolio and help ensure educational programs continue within these facilities," said Dr. Williams.
In addition to the public siting process, sitings can also be made at the sole discretion of the Superintendent, as was the case with the Frantz and Rosenwald facilities.
"In siting the Frantz and Rosenwald campuses, I based my decisions on both optimization and moving schools into high quality buildings in areas of the city aligned to the school's current location. Ultimately, our scholars come first, and I want to ensure they're in high quality facilities where we can enhance the overall scholar experience and help them reach their full potential," Dr. Williams said.
Due to the sitings decisions mentions above, the following buildings will be vacated and their fate will be as follows:
●William Fischer - the final Surplus Property Strategy criteria will be applied to the building once adopted by the Board.
●Joseph S. Clark - will continue to be used for swing space purposes by the district.
●Rabouin School - the final Surplus Property Strategy criteria will be applied to the building once adopted by the Board.
NOLA-PS looks forward to working with the schools to ensure a smooth transition for students and staff to the new facilities for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.
If families have questions about their scholars moving to one of these facilities, we encourage them toreach out to their respective schools for more information.
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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). NOLA-PS currently oversees 72 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams, the first woman in the District's 181 years to serve as its permanent superintendent.
For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.