Our Vision
All students receive a high-quality education that fosters their individual capabilities, while ensuring that they thrive and are prepared for civic, social, and economic success.
Who We Are
NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which shares the exact same boundaries as the City of New Orleans. It includes our elected school board, entitled the Orleans Parish School Board, our district administration lead by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr., and our 79 public schools.
NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) at its heart is an organization dedicated to the success of every New Orleans public school student. The promise of American education is the opportunities that it should make accessible. New Orleans must deliver on this promise; our work is expansive, and urgent. We truly believe every child and every school can succeed with hard work every day.
78
Schools
52
Elementary
20
High Schools
6
Combination Schools
2,554
Graduates (2018)
44,631
Students
Our Diversity
New Orleans Students Pre vs. Post Katrina
Graduation Rate
2004
2018
TOPS Eligibility Rate
2004
2017
College Entry Rate
2004
2017
HISTORY
One hundred twenty-three years after the founding of New Orleans as a French port city and thirty-eight years after the Louisiana Purchase, the New Orleans Public Schools system was established on March 26, 1841.
read moreGOVERNANCE
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), established in 1974, governs all schools in Louisiana.
read moreLooking Forward
Local control of our schools allows us to build on what’s been done and all the progress made, all while pursuing a stronger future. We are clarifying in real-time what is critical and indispensable about our unique system, and what must be challenged and improved. Learn more about our work in our strategic plan, here, or in this op-ed, written by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr., “How New Orleans’s Unique School System Is Working for Our Students, Families & Neighborhoods and Reclaiming the Future for Our City”.
"The progress we’re making in New Orleans has national importance. The nation is closely following what’s happening here as cities work to structure their systems in ways that benefit all children, offering not just choice, but quality choice."
NOLA Public Schools Strategic Plan FY 2018 – 2021
NOLA Public Schools’ three-year strategic plan is the implementation of its vision for the students of New Orleans and was created with input from the people of New Orleans. With eight goals, five priorities, and dozens of strategies, we are leaning in to the work ahead.
