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
Welcome to NOLA Public Schools.
We are a community of public schools devoted to educating and preparing all our students to thrive in life. For 180 years, public education in New Orleans has been a part of this vibrant and multicultural city’s complicated history.
Today, we work to be the ‘good change' in public education; work to overcome adversity; and work to champion resilience to pursue the promise of a quality education for all students. In our district, students can grow and learn to be well-prepared, engaging leaders in the community, in business, and in public life. We have immense pride in the many generations of New Orleans public school graduates who are making a difference in New Orleans and beyond.
76
Schools
48
Elementary
22
High Schools
6
K-12 Schools
2,554
Graduates (2018)
45,022
Students
Special thanks to our partners at the Cowen Institute at Tulane University for compiling the following chart of public schools in New Orleans.
New Orleans Public Schools Governance Chart 2021-2022Our 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.
GOVERNANCE
NOLA-PS is a community of schools monitored and supported by the District's Central Office, which carries out policies set by the elected Orleans Parish School Board.
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."
The 2021-2025 NOLA-PS Strategic Plan This 4-year plan is a guide to give the future Superintendent of Schools a clear understanding of where the District stands today, its values, and its priorities. The building of this plan began with considerable engagement with the community, so that the voices of families, students, school leaders and education stakeholders were reflected in its direction. At its core are four anchors: Equity, Transparency, Partnership, and Communication, to steer the work of NOLA-PS to meet the needs of our school community. It is a living document, intended to evolve over time, and eventually incorporate the vision of the next leader of NOLA-PS.
