Black Educators Convene to Share Strategies for Boosting the City’s Public Schools

Story and Photos by Daelyn House Data News Weekly Contributor

Despite improved high school graduation rates and college enrollment rates, New Orleans students continue to lag behind their peers statewide in core curriculum subjects. This gap has pushed Black educators to work together to boost academic achievement through community-driven and peer-led solutions. With the new school year underway, Black educators from New Orleans are focusing on boosting student performance in the city’s classroom.“New Orleans is really special in that we are one of the cities in the country that has an amazing legacy of Black institutions, Black teachers, Black schools that have been shaping the minds of Black children since the beginning,” said Adrinda Kelly, the Founding Executive Director of Be NOLA Black Education for New Orleans.

Kelly spoke on local initiatives to improve student achievement as part of the “Black is Brilliance Summit” on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, hosted by BE NOLA at Xavier University of Louisiana’s Campus. The event provided a space for local educators to share strategies, connect with peers, exchange ideas, and tell the stories of why they became educators, all while inspiring one another and spreading a sense of community.

Adrinda Kelly speaks during a breakout session at the Black Is Brilliant Summit at Xavier University of Louisiana.

“To be Black and brilliant is to have this deep confidence in knowing who you are and why you are here,” said Kelly, highlighting the summit’s focus on empowering educators through self-knowledge and heritage.

The summit empowered educators and students through self-knowledge and heritage, while addressing the challenges Black-led schools face in gaining recognition. Educators pointed to some successes out of New Orleans Public Schools including Benjamin Franklin High School’s ranking as the number 1 in Louisiana High Schools and a national ranking of number 99 by the U.S. News and World Report with a graduation rate of over 95-percent. Ben Franklin’s Principal, Dr. Kendall McManus-Thomas has worked across New Orleans Charter Schools and is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana’s Educational Leadership Graduate Program.

Leon Waters, guest speaker for the Black Is Brilliant Summit, speaks during a discussion session at Xavier University of Louisiana.

“I think that, to be honest, a lot of Black education is getting overshadowed, and when I say Black education, I mean they have a Black leadership and they have a Black governing board,” said Stevona Elem-Rogers, BE NOLA’s Chief of Community Programs and partnerships and coordinator of the Black is Brilliant Summit.

Rogers pushed back on the characterization of Black education in New Orleans as being defined by low-income status, “Black education is not a monolith. Half of us who are Black people in America are a step away from being in any given class, so taking care of our kids in that way is really important,” Elem-Rogers said

According to the latest Louisiana Department of Education Data the New Orleans Public Schools are trailing behind statewide. About 24-percent of students in grades 3 through 8 scored “mastery or higher” in Math, compared to 33-percent statewide, and 37-percent reached that level in Language Arts, versus 43-percent statewide. Parents gave the city’s schools a “C” in a 2024 Tulane University Survey.

“You need knowledge in order to fuel yourself into whatever you’re going to do next,” said Andrea Heard, a New Orleans Educator. “Education is an important staple anywhere you go. It is your power; it is your leverage,” Heard said, defining education’s purpose as the acquisition of knowledge, which she framed as a tool for personal revolution and empowerment.

“Your knowledge can’t be taken from you. It’s your tool to fight,” Heard said.