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- Category: Press Releases
NEW ORLEANS – (March 15, 2020) – NOLA-PS, in collaboration with charter school leaders and the Mayor’s agencies, is coordinating a multi-pronged effort to ensure child nutrition services are available to families during the prolonged school closure. Though some school sites are starting food nutrition service on Monday, March 16th, the District anticipates a citywide child nutrition program to be available to families by March 23rd.
WHAT’S NEW:
Key Details on students accessing child nutrition are:
“We are proud to let the public know that our charter school leaders are moving quickly to support children in this time of crisis by offering food service as soon as Monday in some locations across the city. “ said Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr., Superintendent of NOLA-PS, “They are showcasing exceptional leadership and ingenuity during this time of need. We ask that our school community continue to check our online location for updates on when and where child nutrition resources will be available. More are coming online in the coming days and we want to be as clear as possible on what is available and how to access it.”
CONTINUOUS LEARNING:
NOLA-PS continues to work with the Mayor’s Office to identify internet solutions for families as we plan for prolonged Distance Learning needs. NOLA-PS will share with schools and families resources identified through this process.
SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICES CLOSURES:
In response to the Governor’s emergency proclamation, all New Orleans Public Schools facilities are closed beginning Monday, March 16 through April 13. The closure will also include NOLA Public Schools’ central office, Mahalia Jackson Community Center, and all Family Resource Centers. Beginning March 16, non-essential NOLA-PS staff will work remotely. NOLA-PS is taking these extraordinary measures out of the abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff. We encourage everyone to continue to check the NOLA-PS website and social media for up to the minute updates.
The District understands these are uncertain times, but by following the advice of health and city officials and working together to keep our children and educators healthy, we will persevere.
NOLA-PS continues to encourage our schools, students, and families to follow everyday practices to remain healthy and monitor their health in accordance with CDC recommendations. Additionally, the District encourages all to remain connected and mindful of updates being disseminated by the District in order to stay informed of how COVID-19 is impacting our school community. For regular District updates, please visit our Coronavirus webpage.
For more information on the virus, visit http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus.
For information on what to do if you are sick, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf.
If you have questions about Coronavirus, please contact the Coronavirus general information line at 1-855-523-2652 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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ABOUT NOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which includes the district’s elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board and the district’s administration led by NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 78 public schools. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.
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- Category: Press Releases
New Orleans - (March 13, 2020) – Due to the growing concerns surrounding the spread of COVID-19, the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) has announced that it will cancel its upcoming OPSB Committee and Board Meetings next week on March 17 and March 19.
Additional announcements will be made via NOLA-PS press releases and on social media as they become available. Members of the public are encouraged to monitor NOLA-PS accounts for further updates. The OPSB will continue to post announcements on the NOLA-PS website (www.nolapublicschools.com), Facebook (@NOLAPublicSchools) and Twitter (@NOLAPSchools).
More information on rescheduled dates for OPSB Committee and Board Meeting will follow.
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ABOUT NOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which includes the district’s elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board and the district’s administration led by NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 78 public schools. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.
- Details
- Category: Press Releases
NEW ORLEANS – (March 11, 2020) – Today, NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. and NOLA-PS Chief Operations Officer Tiffany Delcour presented the District’s proactive coronavirus emergency preparedness steps to the New Orleans City Council Smart & Sustainable Cities Committee. NOLA-PS continues to collaborate and coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to receive updates regarding the Coronavirus in order to disseminate accurate and timely information about the disease to our school community. At this time, there is no reported case of COVID-19 occurring within NOLA public schools.
How The District Is Working With Schools
The district is communicating regularly with local and state agencies and providing direct updates to schools on COVID-19 and steps they need to take to prepare. To this end, NOLA-PS administration has taken several steps including:
In The Event School Closures Are Needed
While there is no direction to close any of our schools at this time, site-specific or system-wide school closure decisions will be made in line with the CDC’s guidance and recommendations from local health agencies. Such direction could occur based on one known case impacting a school community.
NOLA-PS is working with local agencies and schools to plan for short-and long-term impacts of the virus, inclusive of prolonged school closure. Specifically, NOLA-PS is prioritizing planning for continued delivery of critical services, such as instruction, child nutrition, and social and medical services.
Remain Informed and Healthy
NOLA-PS continues to encourage our schools, students, and families to follow everyday practices to remain healthy and monitor their health in accordance with CDC recommendations. Additionally, the District encourages all to remain connected and mindful of updates being disseminated by the district in order to stay informed of how COVID-19 is impacting our school community.
Protecting yourself from Coronavirus COVID-19 (source: Louisiana Department of Health)
About Coronavirus:
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with recent outbreaks of MERS and SARS.
How does Coronavirus COVID-19 spread?
Health experts are still learning the details about how this new coronavirus spreads. Other coronaviruses spread from an infected person to others through:
For more information on the virus, visit http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus.
For information on what to do if you are sick, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf.
If you have questions about Coronavirus, please contact the Coronavirus general information line at 1-855-523-2652 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
About NOLA Public Schools
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NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which includes the district’s elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board and the district’s administration led by NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 78 public schools. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com.
- Details
- Category: Press Releases
NEW ORLEANS – (March 13, 2020) – Per the proclamation issued by Governor John Bel Edwards today, all NOLA public schools have been ordered to close starting Monday, March 16th for four weeks. At this time, classes are planned to resume on April 13th. This necessary action is an effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19 across our city and state.
The Orleans Parish Schools Board took immediate action in response to the Governor’s proclamation, by passing a resolution giving the Superintendent the authority to access emergency reserves to support the city’s students. Specifically, the resolution allows the Superintendent to access up to five million dollars from its general fund balance reserve to support any system-wide emergency purchases. At this time, the Superintendent has identified three core areas in need of immediate resources: distance learning, child nutrition and school sanitation.
“The Governor has directed all schools in the state to close to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and I support that decision,” said NOLA-PS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. “We have been closely coordinating with schools and local officials to prepare for school closure. Key plans for instruction and continuation of other services are being operationalized as we know this will be very difficult for our students and families. This is why we took immediate action to fund these efforts. Today, the Orleans Parish School Board passed a resolution granting my administration the authority to access up to five million dollars from emergency reserves to spend toward supporting students and schools during this time.”
Beginning on Monday, March 16th all school activities including school day instruction, childcare, preschool, athletics/sports, health services, enrichment and school-based activities are cancelled. NOLA-PS is working with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure continued delivery of critical services, such as instruction, child nutrition, and social services.
The District understands these are uncertain times, but by following the advice of health and city officials and working together to keep our children and educators healthy, we will persevere.
NOLA-PS continues to encourage our schools, students, and families to follow everyday practices to remain healthy and monitor their health in accordance with CDC recommendations. Additionally, the District encourages all to remain connected and mindful of updates being disseminated by the District in order to stay informed of how COVID-19 is impacting our school community. For regular District updates, please visit our Coronavirus webpage.
For more information on the virus, visit http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus.
For information on what to do if you are sick, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf.
If you have questions about Coronavirus, please contact the Coronavirus general information line at 1-855-523-2652 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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ABOUT NOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which includes the district’s elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board and the district’s administration led by NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 78 public schools. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.
- Details
- Category: Press Releases
NEW ORLEANS – (March 6, 2020) – Today, Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) District 5 member Ben Kleban announced his intent to resign from the board effective June 15, 2020. Citing a growing family and extended family needs, Kleban and his family will be moving away from New Orleans over the summer.
“I respect and support School Board member Kleban’s resignation for family reasons,” said OPSB President Ethan Ashley. “I fully expect him to continue honoring his commitment to serve his district and our students well, until his departure. The School Board will be following board policy to ensure that we fill the vacancy.”
“Ben has been a valued and impactful member of our board,” said NOLA-PS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. “His tenure is one marked with dedication to serving the best interests of our students and families and we are very appreciative of his service to the community. We wish the Kleban family the best as they embark on this next journey in their lives.”
Board policy under such circumstance is for the board to consider all candidates and appoint a qualified individual to serve in an interim capacity for the remaining tenure of the open seat. Upon his resignation in June, there will be six months left in Kleban’s tenure.
“I truly love New Orleans and its people with all my heart and soul, and it has been a great privilege to be a public servant for this community,” Kleban said in a letter to his constituents announcing his resignation.
Kleban has served on the Orleans Parish School Board since January of 2017 and is the current Policy Chairman on the board.
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