Rendering of the new Sophie B. Wright gym from the Jena Street side. (courtesy Jacobs / CSRS Program Management)
Sophie B. Wright Charter School, from Napoleon Avenue. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
“We are just keeping the big picture in mind,” said Sophie B. Wright principal Sharon Clark after the meeting. “We’re getting a state-of-the-art facility to educate the children of New Orleans, and it doesn’t get any better than that.” Continue reading »
Plans to renovate the Sophie B. Wright Charter School building will be discussed at a meeting next week, officials said. Continue reading »
James Weldon Johnson Elementary School on Monroe Street.
The residents were also told that cost estimates have been reached for renovations to the long-abandoned Priestley site in their own neighborhood, they say.
RSD officials have not responded to requests to confirm accounts of the meetings this week. Continue reading »
The Mystic Krewe of Nyx Captain’s float rolls on Magazine Street on Wednesday evening. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
The Krewe of Ancient Druids “Consultant” float turns onto Magazine Street on Wednesday evening. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
The Krewe of Ancient Druids teased a number of other parade groups with its “Phobias” theme and the Mystic Krewe of Nyx reveled in cinematic takes on “What a Girl Wants” Wednesday night, as Carnival parading on the Uptown New Orleans route resumed after its week off. Continue reading »
The Knights of King Arthur’s Queen Guinevere, Pam Dean Goodard, smiles as she prepares throw a toy football into the Napoleon Avenue crowd. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
The Krewe of Carrollton and Knights of King Arthur rolled Sunday afternoon on the Uptown route.
A member of the Krewe of Carrollton on the “Day at the Jazzfest” float tosses beads into the St. Charles Avenue crowd. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Members of the Jewish Community Relations Council carry a sign quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. — “I have a dream” — during Monday’s parade through Central City. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A parade honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. passed up the Central City boulevard named in his memory on Monday, with community and school groups from around New Orleans marching in support of his legacy.
Supporters of Project Ceasefire carry banners in Monday’s Martin Luther King Day parade. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
As we in New Orleans grieve the tragedy unfolding today in Connecticut, please let us also bear in mind the joy that our own school children bring us — and our duty as a community to protect them.
Crocker elementary students run through the play yard in an Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the New Orleans Police Department in 2011. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Sabree Hill)
A mother and son laugh together during the 2011 Fête Française at Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle Orleans. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Sabree Hill)
KIPP Central City Academy students march in the 2012 Krewe of Pontchartrain parade. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Sabree Hill)
Several of KIPP’s Uptown schools — including KIPP Believe! College Prep on South Carrollton and its two schools in Central City — and Lafayette Academy are among the 13 Recovery School District schools eligible to return to the Orleans Parish School Board, based on the recently-announced School Performance Scores, officials said. Continue reading »
Performance among Uptown public schools in the most recent school year was in many ways similar to that in the year before, according to state scores released Monday. A cluster of high-performing schools continued gains that in many ways lead the city, while a somewhat larger group of low-performing schools split between those making progress toward the middle, those that are slowly improving but still dismally low, and a handful with results that can only be described as disappointing.
High-performing charter schools in the Recovery School District — such as Sophie B. Wright, Lafayette Academy and several KIPP campuses in Uptown — are concerned that the Orleans Parish School Board will take an administrative fee out of their federal grants if they return to the district, amid broader issues of trust and autonomy, reports Jessica Williams of The Lens.
This fall, Sophie B. Wright Institute for Academic Excellence will add four Advanced Placement courses — which can earn high school students college credit — in literature, music theory, U.S. history, and world history, according to a report by charter school reporter Danielle Bell at The Lens.
Even as education officials tout increases in test scores around Louisiana and in New Orleans, the only open-admissions school in Uptown New Orleans that exceeded state averages in any subject last year was New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School — and that was only in two of four subjects.
Among other high schools, New Orleans College Prep was only a few points off the state average in three of four subjects, and Eleanor McMain Secondary School generally trailed Prep by a few more points in each subject. But Sophie B. Wright Institute of Academic Excellence had decidedly mixed results, and the phasing-out Walter L. Cohen High School and the now-closed Sojourner Truth Academy scored even lower. Continue reading »
Nia Watson, 19, holds a stuffed animal as she watches the anti-crime march pass the house where her brother-in-law, Brandon Baker, was recently shot to death. Messages to Brandon are written all over the front of the house. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Led by the Sophie B. Wright band, police and residents walk together through Hollygrove on Wednesday in a march against crime. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Zulu's Witch Doctor rides on his signature float down St. Charles Ave. on Mardi Gras. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
The Rex title float "Lore of the Ancient Americas" travels down St. Charles Ave. Mardi Gras Day. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
On a beautiful Fat Tuesday, enthusiastic crowds met the Krewes of Zulu and Rex along their Uptown routes to close out the Carnival season. Continue reading »
A member of the Krewe of Muses tosses beads to a spectator on Magazine Street. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
The Uptown parade route saw its thickest crowds of the Carnival season so far on Thursday night when the Knights of Babylon, the Knights of Chaos and the Krewe of Muses delivered their highly anticipated shows. Continue reading »
