As the school year comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work, progress, and collaboration that defined this year for public schools in New Orleans. Thanks to the dedication of our educators, school leaders, students, and families, our city continues to make remarkable strides toward our dream of an incredible public school for every child.

Celebrating Accomplishments

This year, we saw encouraging results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a testament to the hard work happening in classrooms across Louisiana, with New Orleans leading the way. The data is clear: students are growing academically, and schools are moving in the right direction.

Despite major federal funding cuts, we celebrated the tremendous promise of our Grow Your Own initiative—an innovative program designed to cultivate the next generation of New Orleans educators from within our own communities. It’s part of our long-term investment in building a strong, sustainable teacher pipeline.

NOLA-PS welcomed a new Superintendent—an important milestone that brings both steady leadership and a fresh perspective. With this transition, we look forward to continued collaboration and alignment on what matters most: student success.

We were excited to see growth in School Performance Scores (SPS) this year. These gains are a direct result of the commitment of schools and the resilience of our students.

In partnership with NOLA-PS, we launched the first-ever NOLA-PS Data Dashboard—a user-friendly tool that provides access to key education data. This collaboration is a meaningful step toward building a more informed and engaged school community.

These accomplishments are aligned with the core strategic priorities of NSNO: ensuring strong schools and programs with sustainable resources to support the needs of diverse learners, strengthening the teacher pipeline by making New Orleans the best place to teach, and protecting key system values that unlock opportunities for even greater success. At every turn, we’ve worked to center students and empower educators with the tools and resources they need to thrive.

Honoring Our Community

Throughout the year, we’ve had the joy of coming together as a community to celebrate and elevate our shared work. In May, nearly 2500 local educators gathered at the 4th annual NOLA Teacher Fest—a joyful celebration of the people who make our schools great. We hosted the second STEM Summit in the fall, bringing together local and national leaders to spotlight innovation in STEM education and professional development for our STEM teachers. We also honored the city’s very best educators at the New Orleans Excellence in Teaching Awards (NOETA) Gala. These moments of connection and recognition energize our mission.

Looking Back—and Ahead

As we close out this school year, we also recognize a powerful milestone in our city’s history—20 years since Hurricane Katrina. In the two decades since that moment of profound disruption and loss, New Orleans has worked tirelessly to rebuild its public education system. The progress we see today—stronger schools, empowered educators, thriving students—is a reflection of that collective effort and enduring commitment.

To the Class of 2025 and Our Educators: Congratulations and Thank You

To the graduating seniors—congratulations! You’ve reached an important milestone, and we can’t wait to see the incredible things you’ll do next.

To our educators, school staff, and leaders—thank you. Your tireless work, compassion, and creativity have made a lasting impact. We hope this summer brings you time to rest, recharge, and reflect.

As we look ahead to the next school year, we remain grounded in our dream of a day when every child in New Orleans can attend an incredible public school filled with amazing educators supporting them to reach their dreams. Your hard work every day helps to make that dream come true. We’re proud to walk alongside you in this work, and even more inspired by what we can accomplish together.

Thank you,
Dana Peterson
CEO of New Schools for New Orleans