Sarah T. Reed High School will close at the end of this school year as Einstein Charter Schools dramatically reduces its reach in New Orleans East.
Einstein’s board members voted last week to close Reed and combine the charter’s three other schools in New Orleans East — Sherwood Forest, Village De L’est and Einstein Middle School — into one PreK-8 school at Sherwood Forest’s campus.
The decision was made with “great care and reflection,” Tara Johnson, Einstein’s CEO, said in a statement, citing poor facilities, declining enrollment and low test scores as the reasons.
“While we recognize the deep legacy and importance of Reed to this community, we must also ensure that every student has access to the strongest academic opportunities and the most supportive learning environment possible,” Johnson said.
New Orleans’ school board must approve the plan, and is scheduled to meet next week.
Reed is housed in one of the district’s lowest-ranked facilities, and Johnson said it hasn’t had major repairs since Hurricane Katrina.
Einstein Charter Schools was founded in 2005, after Katrina, and opened its first school, Village de l’Est, the following year. In 2013, it opened Sherwood Forest and Einstein Middle.
The state’s Recovery School District operated Reed after Katrina and closed it in 2014 after the school received F grades for student performance for several years in a row.
Two years later, Einstein reopened the school, starting with just ninth graders, and graduated its first class in 2020. Reed has received a D grade from the state for the last three years.
The school’s enrollment dropped by almost 100 students last year, to 295, about half its target enrollment. Only nine schools in the district had a fill rate under 80% last school year.
About a third of Reed’s students were identified as English language learners, the second-highest percentage in the district, compared to just 6% of all high schoolers.
Students who are not graduating from Reed will have to find a new school to attend next year.
There are three other high schools located in New Orleans East: Abramson Sci Academy, Livingston Collegiate Academy and The NET: East, an alternative school.
Students can attend any public school in the city, and data show that two in three high school-age students in New Orleans East attend schools outside their neighborhood.
Other charter operators with under-enrolled schools have closed campuses in recent years as New Orleans’ birth rate has declined and families have left the city.
District officials and board members have encouraged charter operators to close schools on their own, rather than force them to take action.
This year, 13 schools in the city’s nearly all-charter public school system are up for renewal. Based on preliminary performance data from the state, all are expected to qualify for automatic renewal.
Reed, as well as Einstein’s middle school and its Village de l’Est campuses, would be up for renewal next year when stricter state standards take effect.
