
Dear NOLA-PS Community Members,
We made great strides toward that goal in the past few weeks. So many of our teachers and staff are now fully vaccinated, and our safety procedures and access to testing continue to protect our school community. Now I want to encourage those educators and staff who have not been vaccinated to take advantage of the opportunities to do so. The same goes for our students 16 and older. Every shot in an arm is a boost of safety for all of us.
Our progress and successes during this challenging time are direct results of us coming together, listening to each other, and working as a team united in this fight. It’s not over yet – we must not let our guard down and still follow our COVID safety guidelines – but we can confidently say we are much better off than we were a year ago.
In a lot of ways, this pandemic was the first major, collective challenge we have faced since reunification three years ago. And our success illustrates the strength of our unique community of schools.
But it was not always this way for public education in New Orleans. Efforts to teach our children through the years have constantly been subjected to the pushes and pulls of social change, for better and for worse.
I bring this up because last Friday, we kicked off what will be a year-long commemoration of the 180th anniversary of the start of public education in New Orleans. It is a long and complicated history. While there have been advances since 1841 – Emancipation, Reconstruction, Desegregation – there have also been original sins and setbacks – Slavery, Jim Crow, and Systemic Racism.
We continue to push through toward a better, more inclusive, more equitable education experience for all our students. This past year has taught us that there is still much work to do, but we are heading in the right direction. I encourage you to watch and reflect on the words shared with us last week by former Sen. Mary Landrieu, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and Cedric Richmond, a NOLA-PS alum and our former congressman who is now a senior advisor to President Biden. They have all been integral to the advancement of public education in New Orleans. It is a baton they pass to our new School Board, which Sen. Landrieu pointed out is one of the most diverse and progressive in recent times.
Let us capitalize on that new sense of purpose. We are launching a new strategic planning effort to guide NOLA-PS for the next four years. Rather than resort to a typical bureaucratic tactic of designing this plan internally, we are taking a different tack: We want your input. We have asked our schools, our educators, our students and our communities to submit their ideas, to ask questions, and to participate in the process of planning for the future of our unique community of schools.
In Service,
Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.
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Read MoreNOLA Public Schools is proud to unveil a new comprehensive Special Education Resource Guide that connects people to resources that create real and impactful change in the lives of special needs students and their families. The Special Education Resource Guide is a living document that contains more than 20 areas of assistance, includes more than 150 organization and providers.
Printed copies of the guide can be picked-up at the following locations:

Visit our new website for Mary D. Coghill Elementary for information and school updates!

NOLA Public Schools takes the health of our students, educators, and staff seriously, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our district and schools. Visit our Coronavirus Updates page for the latest information. Additionally, read about our safety precautions for how schools are operating while COVID-19 continues to impact our community within our Roadmap to Reopening.
Several of our schools are serving as community feeding centers at this time. Visit our COVID-19 Child Nutrition page for the latest list of schools and hours of operation.
Check out our COVID-19 Community Resource Center for important information and resources for families and community members.
If you are looking for information on COVID cases across the district, see our COVID Case Tracker.
The NOLAPS Transitions Resource Guide is a digital collection of resources for families and students with special needs transitioning into life after their high school careers. The guide includes information on more than 60 local organizations that provide support in areas such as employment, community access, housing, independent living, financial planning and legal rights.
View the Transitions Resource Guide here.
Support a classroom in New Orleans here: www.donorschoose.org/NOLAPS
Teach New Orleans is the fastest way to share your resume with all New Orleans public schools. Visit Teach New Orleans, to apply now and start making a difference today.
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Inside NOLA Public Schools - Venus Parker, RN
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Nurses Day
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