In a New Orleans school, improving outcomes one student at a time

“How are you, Miss Elizabeth?” A group of three young men hold the door open and wait for their principal before they enter the nondescript building.

School leader Elizabeth Ostberg has earned the respect of students – and educators – in Louisiana for the approach she’s championed since hurricane Katrina hit more than a decade ago.

In August, Ms. Ostberg opened her second New Orleans charter school, The NET: Gentilly, as a way to put students who’ve been expelled, dropped out, or are at risk of dropping out, back on track. The enrollment waitlist and desire to keep class sizes small were her main motivations for not adding more seats at the original sister campus, The NET: Central City. 

The expansion is one indication of progress in a city with a complex, slowly improving

From dropout to college bound Support outside of class