New Harmony High: Archive Profile of a Coastal Restoration Charter School
New Harmony High was a New Orleans public charter high school organized around coastal restoration, environmental learning, project-based work, and community mentorship. Its official site describes it as a public open-enrollment high school focused on climate, coastal restoration, and student agency. [1]
This profile should not be routed as an active school option. New Harmony's official closure page says the school would close at the end of the 2025-26 school year, and secondary reporting states that the board voted to surrender the charter when it expired in June. [2][6]
Snapshot facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official name | New Harmony High School |
| Recommended slug | new-harmony-high |
| Operating status | Closed or closing after the 2025-26 school year; not a current admissions option. [2][6] |
| Offering type | Archive profile of a former public charter high school. |
| Primary location | New Orleans, Louisiana. The official contact page lists the Charles R. Drew School Building at 3819 St. Claude Avenue. [5] |
| Grades served | Grades 9 through 12. [5] |
| Former enrollment model | Free public open-enrollment Type 2 charter school, open to Louisiana residents and using EnrollNOLA for applications. [4] |
| Educational model | Coastal restoration, environmental problem-solving, project-based learning, advisories, field trips, community mentors, and capstone work. [1][3] |
| Founding and leadership | Secondary reporting identifies Sunny Summers as founder, and the school's contact page listed Sunny Summers as school leader. [5][6] |
| Publication recommendation | Publish as an archive or research-note profile for the model category, but exclude from active school search and application-oriented cards. |
What it is
New Harmony High is useful for SchoolDecision because it illustrates a specific public innovation model: a high school built around the problems of coastal restoration and climate resilience in Louisiana. The official site described the school as a public open-enrollment high school that used project-based and problem-based learning, community mentors, and college and career preparation. [1]
The school is also a status caution. It is no longer an ordinary school-shopping option. Families should not see it in active admissions lists. Its value is as an archive profile or model reference for environmental, place-based, and community-connected public school design. [2]
Educational model
New Harmony's model centered on coastal restoration and environmental problem-solving. The school described student work connected to Louisiana's coast, environmental questions, and community issues. [1]
The learning model included advisories, mission-aligned programming, exhibitions, and project-based learning. The school said each student was part of a 15-student advisory, with a grade-level progression that included 9th grade outdoor adventures and field trips, 10th grade human-centered design and United Nations goals, 11th grade college and career work, and senior impact capstones supported by mentors and community resources. [3]
Student experience
The official learning page described a school experience with advisories, field trips, exhibitions, homework support, grade-level themes, and senior capstones. It also described students working with mentors and community partners. [3]
That made New Harmony a more place-specific school than a generic project-based charter. The local coastal environment was not an occasional theme. It was the reason the school existed and the anchor for its public identity. [1]
Curriculum, assessment, and progression
New Harmony's public pages described project-based learning, exhibitions, advisories, and capstones, but the public materials reviewed for this batch were less detailed on course sequences, credit requirements, assessments, state testing, and transcript format. [3]
Because the school is no longer a current admissions option, the implementation goal should not be to help families apply. It should be to accurately document the model and closure, and to make clear that families seeking transcripts, records, or historical information should contact the listed records custodian or the relevant Louisiana and New Orleans education authorities. [2][5]
Public, charter, private, nonprofit, program, network, conservatory, or archive status
New Harmony should be labeled as an archive profile of a public charter high school. Its enrollment page described it as a free public open-enrollment and open-access Type 2 charter school, with any Louisiana resident eligible to apply and EnrollNOLA facilitating applications pending seat availability. [4]
The same public-charter label should not be used to imply current availability. Its official closure page supersedes its former enrollment page for prospective families. [2][4]
Locations and availability
The school's official contact page listed its New Orleans campus in the Charles R. Drew School Building at 3819 St. Claude Avenue. [5]
As of this review, New Harmony should be treated as unavailable for new applicants. Families seeking similar models should look for active environmental public schools, coastal restoration programs, marine science high schools, or project-based charter schools in their own area.
Tuition, admissions, and eligibility
Before closure, New Harmony described itself as a free public open-enrollment Type 2 charter open to Louisiana residents, with EnrollNOLA handling applications pending seat availability and no school-run lottery. [4]
Those facts belong in the archive record, not in an active application callout. The profile should make clear that the school is not accepting ordinary new applicants as an ongoing school option because of the closure decision. [2]
Credits, transcripts, diplomas, certifications, and accreditation
The closure page says seniors were expected to graduate in May 2026 and that records would be transferred to an identified custodian or appropriate authority. Families seeking records should verify the current custodian directly because post-closure responsibility can change after the school year ends. [2]
The reviewed sources did not provide enough detail to describe any certifications or special credentials beyond high school enrollment and graduation. The page should not imply that students earned coastal restoration certifications unless a separate source is identified.
Evidence and outcomes
New Harmony's official sources provide strong evidence of its model and closure status. [1][2][3][4] Secondary reporting from WWNO states that the board voted to surrender the charter and identifies accountability concerns, including a state D rating and lower test scores, as part of the renewal context. [6]
The profile should not romanticize the model or turn closure into proof that place-based learning failed. A school can have a compelling design and still face enrollment, accountability, governance, finance, or renewal challenges. The practical conclusion for parents is simpler: New Harmony is no longer a current school option and should be treated as an archive profile.
Best fit
As an active school, New Harmony would have been most relevant for students interested in coastal restoration, environmental justice, community-based projects, and a smaller public charter environment. It may have fit students who wanted their high school work connected to New Orleans, climate, water, wetlands, and local problem-solving. [1][3]
As a current SchoolDecision page, it fits best as a reference for model design, not as a parent shortlist item.
Questions parents should ask
- Is the school still operating, or has it fully closed after the 2025-26 school year?
- Who currently holds student records and transcripts?
- Where did former students transfer, and what public authority can assist families after closure?
- Are any community partners or programs continuing the coastal restoration model in another form?
- What should SchoolDecision link to for official records after the New Harmony website changes or disappears?
Research notes and open questions
School Decision found enough public information to describe the school's model, availability, and parent-facing considerations. Families and developers should still verify the following items before publishing or routing the page.
- Confirm the final legal closure date and current records custodian after the 2025-26 school year.
- Do not show New Harmony in active school search results or application-oriented lists.
- Verify whether any successor program, partnership, or archive page should be linked.
- Treat accountability and outcome claims through public state sources rather than school promotional materials.
Sources
[1] "Home," New Harmony High School, https://newharmonyhigh.org/, accessed June 7, 2026. [2] "Closing," New Harmony High School, https://newharmonyhigh.org/about-us/closing/, accessed June 7, 2026. [3] "Learning," New Harmony High School, https://newharmonyhigh.org/learning/, accessed June 7, 2026. [4] "Enrollment," New Harmony High School, https://newharmonyhigh.org/enrollment/, accessed June 7, 2026. [5] "Contact," New Harmony High School, https://newharmonyhigh.org/contact/, accessed June 7, 2026. [6] Aubri Juhasz, "New Orleans high school focused on protecting the coast will close," WWNO, https://www.wwno.org/education/2026-01-07/new-orleans-high-school-focused-on-protecting-the-coast-will-close, accessed June 7, 2026. [7] "New Harmony High School," Louisiana Department of Education public school data, https://www.louisianabelieves.com/, accessed June 7, 2026.