Schools with Specialties:

How School Choice has impacted the Jefferson Parish Public School System

The issue of school choice is more relevant than ever before with the surge in charter school offerings in Orleans Parish. This trend began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the state took over most of the parish’s public schools, and continues today. Four more charters were added this year alone.

Just across the parish line, the JPPSS has been offering school choice since well before Katrina. “Our goal has been to not only offer the best educational opportunities for our public school children, but also for all Jefferson families,” said JPPSS Superintendent Diane Roussel, Ph.D. “We recognized that the best way to achieve our goal was to offer choice within the system.”

Today, JPPSS is comprised of several specialized schools that offer a wide range of curricula: academies of advanced studies, Montessori elementary schools, International Baccalaureate degree schools and schools dedicated to the arts and to technology.

The Innovative Schools program is a magnet school concept designed to educate bright and curious students who are intellectually and personally capable of thriving in a rigorous and academically challenging setting. There are more than 1,700 students enrolled in six innovative schools: Gretna Academy, Metairie Academy, Haynes Academy, Ruppel Academy, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, and Thomas Jefferson High School. Roussel estimates that 60 percent of the children at these magnets have previously attended private or parochial schools.

While the magnet schools have more stringent academic requirements, all schools in the system are academically sound. Specialized programs such as French and Spanish language immersion occur at J.C. Ellis Elementary, Boudreaux Elementary and Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies. Drama, dance, visual art and music are taught at the Clancy Elementary School for the Arts. The Jefferson Parish Academy of the Performing Arts offers classes in jazz dance, ballet, string orchestra (viola, cello and bass), along with advanced voice and chorus classes at T.H. Harris Middle School. Once in high school, students are able to continue their studies in performing arts at East Jefferson High School.

Additional programs are offered to high school students who do not want to pursue a college preparatory curriculum. At Bonnabel High School, for example, there are academies that offer school-to-career training in the areas of automotive, financial, hospitality, culinary and nursing. These academies can also be found at various high schools throughout the entire system.

“By matching a student’s interest to a specialized curriculum, we are increasing his or her chance for academic success. The movement toward integrated learning environments has resulted in not only higher academic scores, but also more well-rounded students,” Roussel said.