Original Research by School Decision on Voices for International Business & Education
Voices for International Business & Education is a Louisiana Type II charter district that operates a single high school, International High School of New Orleans, serving grades 9 through 12. The district is small, with roughly a typical high school enrollment for its grade band, and sits in Orleans Parish. Its student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with smaller shares of White students, Asian students, multiracial students, and a very small number of Native American and Pacific Islander students. The district does not report the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it provide special education or English learner counts, so a reader cannot assess economic disadvantage or support for those populations from the available data.
State testing data was not available for this district, so there is no direct measure of academic proficiency in reading, math, or science. A graduation rate is also missing. That gap is notable for a high school–only district, and a parent would want to ask the school for these figures directly. The district’s future adds a layer of uncertainty: according to publicly reported information, the Board of Directors voted to withdraw the school’s charter renewal application, meaning it will cease operating as a charter school after the school year ending in 2025. Management is exploring other nonprofit programs, but no final decision has been announced.
On two measures where comparison data is available, the district stands out in a positive way. Among Orleans Parish’s districts, its chronic absenteeism rate falls in the top quartile, meaning far fewer students are missing substantial school time compared to most peers in the parish. That is a genuine strength for a high school, where attendance often correlates with engagement and completion. Per-pupil current spending sits in the upper half of the middle range, roughly at the level of the county median, which is typical for a relatively small charter operation.
Without test scores or a graduation rate, the core academic picture is incomplete. The district’s main academic offering is the International Baccalaureate program at International High School of New Orleans, but the data does not include details on course access, AP or dual-enrollment offerings, or career pathways. The clearest thing a parent can know is that this is a small, diverse high school district with strong attendance but a deeply uncertain future. Families considering the school should seek clarity from the district on what will happen after the 2024-25 school year and should ask for student outcome data that is not available in this profile.
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