Uptown Public School Series: Education for the Whole Child

How Audubon Charter School Nurtures
My Two Very Different Children
By Donishia S. Dorsey
In the fifth of our ten-essay series by parents of students at public schools Uptown, Donishia Dorsey writes about her children’s experience at Audubon Charter School Uptown. Like New Orleans as a whole, Uptown has many public school options for families—from college preparatory schools, to three different language immersion programs, to a Montessori program, to a technology career pathway school. In this series, we hear from parents themselves on why their child’s school is right for them.

My two children, Jackson and Chloe, are very different from one another. Chloe is in fifth grade, and she has a personality that doesn’t fit in a single room. She wants to be president someday. Jackson is is in  Pre-K 4. He’s younger than Chloe and still learning about himself. He’s quieter and loves puzzles. 

I was nervous that a single school could not nurture both of my children’s different strengths or meet their different needs, but Audubon Charter School Uptown does just that.

Woman booked in attack with box cutter

Police have arrested Eureka Mitchell, 52, in an attack with a box cutter at a Central City home, the New Orleans Police Department reported.

The victim, a 45-year-old man, was arguing with Mitchell’s daughter on Jackson Avenue and Freret Street at about 6 p.m. on Thursday when he was cut in the arm with the box cutter, police said.

New Orleans man indicted in Dixon area murder over missing cocaine, DA’s office announces

From the District Attorney’s Office

A New Orleans man has been indicted for murder in connection with an August killing inside a home in the city’s Dixon neighborhood, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office announced on Thursday.

Aaron “Yao” Lawrence was charged with the second-degree murder of 41-year-old Travis Smith, obstruction of justice in a homicide investigation, and with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in the three-count indictment handed up by an Orleans Parish grand jury.

Celebrating Black Masking Indians, ‘Spy Boy Dow’ premieres tonight at Film Festival

Dow Michael Edwards — a lawyer from Uptown New Orleans who grew up loving the Black Masking Indian culture — is headed for a big screen debut in the short film “Spy Boy Dow.” The film directed by Carl Harrison Jr. follows Edwards’ suit-making process in preparation for Mardi Gras Day.

This is Harrison’s second project to be accepted into the New Orleans Film Festival in three years, and it premieres at The Broad Theater tonight (Oct. 18).
The birth of Spy Boy Dow
“The Spy Boy is first in the front… he is ahead looking for trouble. Only a chosen few can be Spy Boy. It’s his job to send a signal to First Flag when he sees other Indians. First Flag signals back down the line to Big Chief. Big Chief has a stick that controls the Indians. When he hits the ground with the stick, they better get down and bow to the Chief.” – the late Big Chief Larry Bannock of Gert Town’s Golden Star Hunters, (via mardigrasneworleans.com)
Edwards is a partner at the Irwin, Fritchie, Urquhart & Moore law firm, and spy boy for the Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indian tribe. His interest was sparked as a child when watching Indians with his family on Mardi Gras Day. He admired the tradition and culture from afar until he found a way in.

Leidenheimer at odds with Central City neighbors over proposed bakery expansion

By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

Iconic baguette producer Leidenheimer Baking Co. wants to expand its factory, but some of its Central City neighbors are pushing back.

Leidenheimer, one of the city’s premier providers of po-boy loaves, wants to add 23,436 square feet to its factory at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Simon Bolivar Avenue, doubling its size. The renovations are designed to modernize its space and increase its production capacity.

Public feedback in response to these plans has revealed neighborhood complaints of disruptive after-hours deliveries, noise pollution, air pollution, litter, emission of black soot that stains neighboring buildings, and traffic and parking difficulties.

New Orleans Film Fest: Screenings at Prytania, prominence for Louisiana films

The New Orleans Film Society kicks off the 30th New Orleans Film Festival at tonight (Oct. 16) with the Opening Night Film Marriage Story. Uptown’s Prytania Theater will screen over a dozen films, including Motherless Brooklyn, directed by and starring Edward Norton, and The Long Shadow, by Louisiana director Daniel Lafrentz. Shorts from the state and big-budget films are some festival highlights coming to the neighborhood this year.

Of the 6,500 submissions from 104 countries, 232 “visionary, thought-provoking films that represent a wealth of perspectives” made it into the festival. 50% of the films were made in the American South, and 26% are Louisiana-made.

“The festival’s strong accent on Southern voices is a vote of confidence in the rich storytelling in this region,” said New Orleans Film Society’s Artistic Director Clint Bowie in a statement to the press.