Orleans Parish School Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. is recommending the closure of the district-operated, K-6 portion of Mahalia Jackson Elementary School on Jackson Avenue at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
The recommendation is based on significant current and projected under-enrollment in that portion of the school, as well as the physical limitations of the school to support a standard elementary school configuration.
“This recommendation is not easy, nor is it one we take lightly. The impact to students, families and staff is, and always will be, OPSB’s primary consideration," Lewis said.
The school board will take up the recommendation when it meets on April 20.
Lewis says the building was built before the school system reoriented to a K-8/HS model, and is not set up to house a full elementary school program in the current structure.
No final decisions have been made about the future use of the facility.