Original Research by School Decision on Harriet Tubman Charter School
Harriet Tubman Charter School is a single-site PK-8 charter school that functions as its own district in Orleans Parish. The school serves nearly a thousand students across pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, making it a sizable school for that grade span. Because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and very small shares of White and Asian students. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, as well as the share receiving special education or English learner services, was not available from the data provided. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these figures and what supports are in place.
Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern. The school’s rate places it in the bottom quartile among Orleans Parish districts, meaning a relatively high proportion of students miss substantial instructional time. This is a soft spot a prospective family would want to understand better—what the school is doing to address attendance and whether the pattern reflects broader challenges in the community or school climate. Per-pupil spending is in the upper range among the parish’s districts, suggesting the school invests relatively heavily in its operations, though without program or staffing data, it is not possible to say exactly where those dollars go.
State testing results were not provided, so there is no way to characterize academic proficiency levels from the available evidence. This gap often reflects the nature of a school’s data reporting rather than a judgment on performance, but a parent seeking test-based comparisons would need to look elsewhere or request the information from the school.
The school has operated without publicly reported major changes in the last few years; the limited information centers on past events that fall outside a four-year window. For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a sizable, predominantly Black and Hispanic PK-8 charter in New Orleans with above-average spending but also a high chronic absenteeism rate and missing academic outcome data. It may fit a family that values a single-site charter environment and is able to investigate attendance and academic supports directly.
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