With five consecutive years of academic growth, New Orleans’ schools continue to rewrite what is possible in public education. More students are making remarkable academic gains, and schools are narrowing gaps for students who have historically faced the greatest barriers to success. That progress didn’t happen by accident. It is powered by the people closest to students, continuing to innovate in ways that help every child learn and thrive. Now, the work is about how we sustain and accelerate that progress. Schools, and the innovators leading them, need the resources, partnerships, and flexibility to solve increasingly complex challenges.

That’s why NSNO launched The Accelerator – to continue to fuel school-led innovation across New Orleans by strengthening promising ideas and turning what works into lasting models. The fund is designed to invest in the schools, educators, and partners closest to kids to accelerate student outcomes.

In recent months, NSNO has invested over $2.2 million in school-led projects that address challenges that can limit continued progress. These investments help schools plan and pilot new approaches, strengthen promising programs, grow effective practices, and build sustainable models that can help more students to thrive. This first set of investments focuses on supporting diverse learners, strengthening high school models, and leveraging emerging opportunities like AI – all while ensuring schools are more sustainable for the future ahead.

How can schools better serve students with the greatest needs?

Some of the most important innovation happening in New Orleans today is focused on students whose needs have historically been the hardest for schools to meet.  These diverse learners include students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students whose academic, cognitive, behavioral, or communication needs require more specialized support. Through The Accelerator, NSNO is supporting projects that are designed not only to improve services within individual schools, but also to identify practices and models that other schools can learn from and adapt.

• Morris Jeff Community School and Community Academies of New Orleans are working to strengthen services for students who are both learning English and have a disability.
• Success at Thurgood Marshall will provide educators with additional training on curriculum components designed to better serve multilingual learners.
• A collaborative group of schools, including The Willow School, is redesigning how schools coordinate and implement 504 supports in transitions between schools.
• And at Crescent City Schools, their Constellations Program serves students with low-incidence disabilities and some of the most complex cognitive needs. You can learn more about this facility and the program here.

“Through Constellations, CCS is really providing a sustainable solution for a citywide challenge, which is how to serve students with cognitive disabilities with excellence. By creating a standalone program, CCS is increasing the stability and quality of the educational experience for students with cognitive disabilities…We are excited to see how this program continues to grow and [are] thrilled to be serving this specific student population in New Orleans.”  – Julie Lause, Chief of Schools, Crescent City Schools 

How can we make the transition to high school more successful?

The transition from 8th to 9th grade is a critical point in a student’s education. When that transition is not well aligned, students can experience gaps in academic expectations and school culture that affect their progress throughout high school. These investments ask: How can schools improve the transition into 9th grade and create stronger early high school experiences that put students on a path to graduate on time and ready for life?

• KIPP New Orleans Schools is exploring a more intentional 9th-grade model that builds on students’ middle school experiences and prepares them to make the most of their high school years.
• Collegiate Academies and ReNEW Schools are collaborating to examine where schools can better align curriculum, expectations, and practices when moving from one school organization to another.

How can AI make teachers more effective – not replace them?

The Accelerator also invests in emerging opportunities that may help schools address persistent challenges or strengthen teaching and learning in new ways. In this first round, schools are exploring responsible uses of artificial intelligence. For NSNO, that means tools that support—not replace—teachers, complement—not supplant—high-quality instructional materials, and strengthen the connection between educators, students, and classroom content.

The central question is: How can schools use AI thoughtfully to reduce administrative demands, improve access to instructional support, and give educators more time to focus on students? These investments are about learning whether carefully selected tools can help educators work more effectively, connect more deeply with students, and accelerate learning outcomes.

• KIPP New Orleans Schools, Collegiate Academies, Benjamin Franklin High School, Hynes Charter Schools, ReNEW Schools, and FirstLine Schools are piloting AI tools to understand which tools are useful and what conditions are necessary for them to improve teaching and learning responsibly.

“AI’s greatest opportunity is not replacing teachers; it’s empowering them. By testing these tools in real classrooms, we’re learning how technology can complement high-quality curriculum, strengthen scholar learning, and give educators time back to focus on what only they can do: build relationships, respond to scholars’ individual needs, and inspire learning. We’re grateful for NSNO’s investment in helping schools explore this work thoughtfully and share those lessons with others.”– Lisa Shea, Chief Academic Officer, Collegiate Academies

How do great schools remain strong in a changing city?

In our work to continue accelerating school innovations, we will also support projects that help schools address the long-term sustainability challenges affecting public education in New Orleans. These investments are focused on helping schools use resources strategically, collaborate with partners, plan for changing enrollment realities, and build models that can endure.

• Through this priority area, NSNO is working with Collegiate Academies, Morris Jeff Community School, and KIPP New Orleans Schools as they navigate different questions connected to long-term sustainability. This includes supporting schools as they explore opportunities to strengthen school models and facility relocations in ways that can also inform future planning across the city.

Together, these investments reflect what The Accelerator is designed to do: put resources behind the people closest to students as they solve problems, test promising ideas, and build models that can narrow gaps and improve outcomes across New Orleans public schools. This investment is only the beginning. In the months ahead, we will share more about the projects being supported and what schools are learning. We hope you will follow along as these projects continue to grow. If you are interested in collaborating with NSNO to fuel the next set of investments, learn alongside schools, or help bring more promising ideas to life, please contact Alvin David at alvin@nsno.org.