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My family and I have considered moving to New Orleans within the next year, but were apprehensive because we don't really know a lot about the public school system. My younger sister would be starting her freshman year in high school. Right now we live in Chicago and are gambling on the selective enrollment system that CPS offers. How does New Orleans' system work? In CPS you have a garunteed neighborhood school but you can also apply to any school in the city as well as the selective highschools. I know that New Orleans has an entirely chartered system which is where the confusion comes in. Do they have neighborhood boundaries for schools? Do you have to have established Louisisana residency to apply to the best high schools?
There are no district schools in New Orleans (except for Lusher). The entire city is open enrollment which means it is really difficult to get into the best schools. Some schools say they give some preference to certain neighborhoods and zip codes, but that is by no means a guarantee.
Outside of the city there are school districts with boundaries as well as magnet schools. You'll have to apply and test for the magnet schools.
If you plan on living in the city, then definitely apply to the better public schools, but be prepared to go private/parochial when you don't get in.
I, too, recently considered moving to NOLA w/my kids (pre-K & 2nd). I lived there a while ago, before kids, and consider it as close to home as anywhere I've ever lived. Regarding schools: I did a TON of research, including talking to friends there w/kids, reading blogs, looking at schools' websites, and calling school and district/board administrators. Here is what I came up w/.
Re: mid year/irregularly scheduled entry: getting into any decent charter, let alone one of the really good charters, is just shy of impossible. Spots do not usually open during the year. If they do, wait listed kids from the previous year's admission cycle get 1st dibs. If you do move mid year, you will have to home school or pay private school tuition for at least 1 semester... that is straight from an administrator's mouth.
Re: governing bodies: Public charter schools in Orleans Parish are divided into 2 groups: those of the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and those of the Recovery School District (RSD). OPSB is run by parish (aka counties everywhere else) officials, whereas RSD is "administered" by the state although it no longer directly oversees any school... all operate as independent charters. The evolution of this stems from pre and post Katrina decision making. Google if you are super curious.
Re: the process: There are NO geographical/district defaults. All charter. There is a general application for schools under each system within which you rank your preferences. Some schools are much more popular than others resulting from curriculum, reputation, location, etc. Some schools also require additional/supplemental application materials. The due dates for all applications vary. Deadlines tend to be mid December of the year PRIOR to attendance. Meaning, if you want to apply for Fall 2016, you must be a resident of the parish by mid December 2015. There are no guarantees for admission, i.e. the home school or private option mentioned earlier... still in the picture.
Once you submit all information, and only if your child meets admission criteria, does your child enter the 2nd phase-- actual admission is done by lottery. There is some question as to whether it is a true blind lottery, or if outcomes are skewed (some say rigged) so better performing students go to better schools to keep school test scores-- the methodology used to evaluate teacher and administrator effectiveness-- high. There is an admission "day" which all parents are encouraged to attend. Some parents schedule a day off of work to attend. Another great google search for stories.
Re: high schools: Historically, the best public high schools are Benjamin Franklin and Lusher. Each is open to any resident of Orleans Parish. Ben Franklin (by the lake) has academic admissions requirements. I presume Lusher (Uptown) does as well. Lusher also gives preference to children of Tulane University faculty. The history on that is somewhat colorful... another google search for when you're bored.
Helpful websites:
opsb.us
rsdla.net
nopg.org
Because of all of this nonsense, and the fact I am moving mid- year, I elected to take my family elsewhere. The high crime was not exactly appealing either, but with an older child, that may not effect you as drastically. Best of luck with your decision. I'm sure there are other people on the forum who can correct my mistakes and add more info. Don't get me wrong... I still love New Orleans, and will try to move back someday.
I, too, recently considered moving to NOLA w/my kids (pre-K & 2nd). I lived there a while ago, before kids, and consider it as close to home as anywhere I've ever lived. Regarding schools: I did a TON of research, including talking to friends there w/kids, reading blogs, looking at schools' websites, and calling school and district/board administrators. Here is what I came up w/.
Re: mid year/irregularly scheduled entry: getting into any decent charter, let alone one of the really good charters, is just shy of impossible. Spots do not usually open during the year. If they do, wait listed kids from the previous year's admission cycle get 1st dibs. If you do move mid year, you will have to home school or pay private school tuition for at least 1 semester... that is straight from an administrator's mouth.
Re: governing bodies: Public charter schools in Orleans Parish are divided into 2 groups: those of the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and those of the Recovery School District (RSD). OPSB is run by parish (aka counties everywhere else) officials, whereas RSD is "administered" by the state although it no longer directly oversees any school... all operate as independent charters. The evolution of this stems from pre and post Katrina decision making. Google if you are super curious.
Re: the process: There are NO geographical/district defaults. All charter. There is a general application for schools under each system within which you rank your preferences. Some schools are much more popular than others resulting from curriculum, reputation, location, etc. Some schools also require additional/supplemental application materials. The due dates for all applications vary. Deadlines tend to be mid December of the year PRIOR to attendance. Meaning, if you want to apply for Fall 2016, you must be a resident of the parish by mid December 2015. There are no guarantees for admission, i.e. the home school or private option mentioned earlier... still in the picture.
Once you submit all information, and only if your child meets admission criteria, does your child enter the 2nd phase-- actual admission is done by lottery. There is some question as to whether it is a true blind lottery, or if outcomes are skewed (some say rigged) so better performing students go to better schools to keep school test scores-- the methodology used to evaluate teacher and administrator effectiveness-- high. There is an admission "day" which all parents are encouraged to attend. Some parents schedule a day off of work to attend. Another great google search for stories.
Re: high schools: Historically, the best public high schools are Benjamin Franklin and Lusher. Each is open to any resident of Orleans Parish. Ben Franklin (by the lake) has academic admissions requirements. I presume Lusher (Uptown) does as well. Lusher also gives preference to children of Tulane University faculty. The history on that is somewhat colorful... another google search for when you're bored.
Helpful websites:
opsb.us
rsdla.net
nopg.org
Because of all of this nonsense, and the fact I am moving mid- year, I elected to take my family elsewhere. The high crime was not exactly appealing either, but with an older child, that may not effect you as drastically. Best of luck with your decision. I'm sure there are other people on the forum who can correct my mistakes and add more info. Don't get me wrong... I still love New Orleans, and will try to move back someday.
I can say that I came here from somewhere else and didn't have any connections. My oldest daughter got into Lusher. I could list several reasons why I think she got in, but I'm not completely sure. It's definitely not who you know.
When I spoke to someone at Lusher, that person confirmed this is the last year for the district application. (I should mention the district is only a few square blocks, houses do not come on the market super frequently, and when they do they are pricey.) This person also said the in- district application-- versus the community aka parish wide application-- is only advantageous for children entering Kindergarten. After K, vacated/empty seats are filled on a 4/1 ratio... 4 children from a lottery of the community applications, then 1 from a lottery of the district applications. I am unsure if it is the same for middle/high school. The only other school I know of with residential influence is Hynes in Lakefront. The administrator there told me a preference, although not a guarantee, is given to those residing in 70124. For the OP: That school stops at 8th grade.
I have no idea if "who you know" is in place in schools as it is in many other areas of life in NOLA. Regardless, it is a lot to go through for anyone unfamiliar or coming from elsewhere. All of my friends with school aged kids planned far in advance to investigate and take advantage of any weaknesses in the system. For example, sending a child to private, French immersion pre school for 2 years to qualify for the French immersion track at Audubon Charter (1 of the best) because the French immersion track, with a requirement of at least 2 years of French immersion preschool education, allegedly has a fraction of the number of applicants as the school's other Montessori track, which has no foreign language requirement. An applicant must select 1 track or the other.
Lastly, the private schools are well aware of when the public school application deadlines are and when the lotteries are held. As a result, most of them require a signed enrollment contract and non refundable tuition deposit, up to $2500/child, in advance of the public school deadlines. For those parents who attempt to guarantee their child has a spot somewhere, the parents forfeit that nonrefundable deposit if the child places into an acceptable public school... yes, $2500 is far less than 12+ years of private school tuition, but that is not my point...
Again... best of luck to all of you willing, or needing, to go through this process.
When I spoke to someone at Lusher, that person confirmed this is the last year for the district application. (I should mention the district is only a few square blocks, houses do not come on the market super frequently, and when they do they are pricey.) This person also said the in- district application-- versus the community aka parish wide application-- is only advantageous for children entering Kindergarten. After K, vacated/empty seats are filled on a 4/1 ratio... 4 children from a lottery of the community applications, then 1 from a lottery of the district applications. I am unsure if it is the same for middle/high school. The only other school I know of with residential influence is Hynes in Lakefront. The administrator there told me a preference, although not a guarantee, is given to those residing in 70124. For the OP: That school stops at 8th grade.
I have no idea if "who you know" is in place in schools as it is in many other areas of life in NOLA. Regardless, it is a lot to go through for anyone unfamiliar or coming from elsewhere. All of my friends with school aged kids planned far in advance to investigate and take advantage of any weaknesses in the system. For example, sending a child to private, French immersion pre school for 2 years to qualify for the French immersion track at Audubon Charter (1 of the best) because the French immersion track, with a requirement of at least 2 years of French immersion preschool education, allegedly has a fraction of the number of applicants as the school's other Montessori track, which has no foreign language requirement. An applicant must select 1 track or the other.
Lastly, the private schools are well aware of when the public school application deadlines are and when the lotteries are held. As a result, most of them require a signed enrollment contract and non refundable tuition deposit, up to $2500/child, in advance of the public school deadlines. For those parents who attempt to guarantee their child has a spot somewhere, the parents forfeit that nonrefundable deposit if the child places into an acceptable public school... yes, $2500 is far less than 12+ years of private school tuition, but that is not my point...
Again... best of luck to all of you willing, or needing, to go through this process.
I agree that it is a strange system, and it was one of my biggest concerns when I moved here.
Last edited by norb123; 12-12-2015 at 02:28 AM..
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a little assistance
