YA of Louisiana Approved to Open Charter School in Jefferson Parish

Since 1962 the local non-profit organization Young Audiences of Louisiana has led the state of Louisiana in arts education. At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Jefferson Parish School Board the board approved the non-profit to operate a new open enrollment charter school in Jefferson Parish for the 2013-14 school year. 

 

Young Audiences Executive Director Rickie Nutik explained at the meeting, “After six years of providing deep academic instruction and arts integration for students in Jefferson Parish, Young Audiences has developed the capacity to establish a school that will emphasize academic excellence and use research-based Young Audiences arts-integration programs to engage students and support teaching and learning”

 

Since 2006 Young Audiences has operated afterschool programs in schools throughout Jefferson Parish that promote academic excellence and social growth. External evaluations by SEDL have shown that students enrolled in Young Audiences afterschool programs in Jefferson Parish schools outperformed their peers on standardized tests. In addition, students in these programs showed fewer disciplinary reports and increased school attendance.

Young Audiences Charter School will open its doors in August, 2013 as an open enrollment charter school. Enrollment will be open to any student entering Kindergarten, 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd grade that resides in Jefferson Parish. Each following year the school will add one grade to serve students in grades K-8 by Fall 2018. The location of the school has not yet been finalized.

Parents are encouraged to e-mail charterschool@ya4la.org for more information.

 

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All media inquires: Andrew Freeman, andrew@ya4la.org, (504) 523-3525