The Leah Chase School opened its doors on Tuesday (Aug. 6) as New Orleans’ first permanent, direct-run public school in nearly two decades.
The elementary school located in Uptown is led by Principal Crystal LaFrance and Vice Principal Virgil Tiller. The school serves about 300 students, NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Avis Williams said at a press conference on Tuesday. She told Verite News that the school system is preparing to directly run more schools.
The school is named after New Orleans culinary and civil rights legend Leah Chase, whose imagery is depicted throughout the school.
“We’re excited to open a school honoring an icon from our community and making sure that our scholars that are here can see themselves in the curriculum and can feel like they’re in New Orleans when they’re at this school,” Williams said.
PHOTOS: The first day at the Leah Chase School
The Leah Chase School in New Orleans, a newly created direct-run school in a city where the overwhelming majority of public schools are run by nonprofit charter organizations. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Posters seen in the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Third grade math and science teacher Gianna Davis prepares for her incoming class at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Books seen in Sparkle Jarvis’ classroom at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Jarvis is a fourth grade social studies and english language arts teacher. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
NOLA Public Schools Chief Communication and Community Affairs Officer Courtney Washington (left) and NOLA Public Schools Executive Director of Communications and Community Taslin Alfonzo next to a mural of Leah Chase at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Avis Williams, Chief Communications and Community Affairs Officer Courtney Washington and COO Don LeDuff welcome students to the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
NOLA Public Schools Executive Director of Safety and Security Isaac Johnson, Chief Operations Officer Don LeDuff and Superintendent Avis Williams welcome students into the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Two students walk up the stairs to begin classes at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Erin Marerro-Savoie, operations manager at the Leah Chase School, guides students arriving from buses on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Students line up in the hallway at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Olivia Joseph, the third grade social studies and english language arts teacher at the Leah Chase School, introduces her students to classroom rules on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
NOLA Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Fateama Fulmore, Leah Chase School Principal Crystal LaFrance and NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Avis Williams (left to right) walk through the hallway at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
Students listen to their teacher at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
NOLA Public School Superintendent Avis Williams introduces herself to a fifth grade class at the Leah Chase School on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News 
A teacher at the Leah Chase School teaches her students about Leah Chase’s legacy on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Credit: John Gray/Verite News
Alisa Bertell, a Gert Town resident, spoke to Verite News after dropping her daughter off at the school. Her daughter previously attended Lafayette Academy, which shut down at the end of 2023-24 school year and was housed in the building now occupied by the Leah Chase School. She said it would have been horrible if another school didn’t replace it.
“I have talked to a few other parents, and they are excited that the school did come back because we needed the school,” Bertell said.
Learn more about the school at www.theleahchaseschool.com.
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