New Orleans Center for Creative Arts: Parent Guide to a State-Funded Pre-Professional Arts Conservatory

The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) is a regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. Founded in 1973 and opening its doors in 1974, NOCCA offers intensive instruction across eleven arts disciplines while also providing academic coursework through its full-day Academic Studio program ¹². It is a tuition-free public institution operated as a state agency under the Louisiana Division of Administration, designated Agency 673 ³⁴.

NOCCA is non-traditional in several respects. It is not a school district or a charter school but a state government agency created by statute, independent of the state superintendent and all local and state education boards except its own board of directors ³. Students are admitted solely by audition, with no academic screening ¹¹⁰. Most students attend on a half-day basis, remaining enrolled at their home high school while traveling to NOCCA for arts instruction; a smaller cohort of up to approximately 250 students attends the full-day Academic Studio, which grants a high school diploma ⁹¹⁰.

Snapshot facts

Field	Detail
Official name	New Orleans Center for Creative Arts 1
Operating status	Active, single campus at 2800 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70117 1
Founded	1973 (doors opened 1974); moved to current Chartres Street location in 2000 12
Founders	A coalition of artists, educators, business leaders, and community activists; no single individual founder is identified in official sources 12
Current leadership	Silas Cooper, President and CEO
Primary location	2800 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70117 1
Grades served	9-12 1
Public/charter/private status	Public state agency (Louisiana Agency 673) 34
Tuition or funding model	Tuition-free; funded through state general fund and the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) 14
Admissions model	Selective, by audition only 16
Educational model	Pre-professional arts conservatory with half-day and full-day options 89
Evidence confidence	Mixed public and school-reported 451

What it is

NOCCA is described on its own website as "a public regional, pre-professional arts training center" offering students intensive instruction in culinary arts, dance, media arts (filmmaking and audio production), music (classical, jazz, vocal), theatre arts (drama, musical theatre, theatre design), visual arts, and creative writing ¹. The school lists eleven arts disciplines on its programs page: classical instrumental, creative writing, culinary arts, dance, entertainment production design, jazz instrumental, media arts, theatre arts, visual arts, and vocal music ⁷.

The institution was created by Louisiana statute RS 17:1970.23, which designates it as "a state center primarily for the training of high school students" housed in a state-owned facility, operating as "an agency of state government" independent of the state superintendent and all local and state education boards, except its own board of directors ³. The statute identifies the surrounding parishes from which students may be drawn, including Orleans, Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Terrebonne ³.

Educational model

NOCCA operates two instructional models. In the traditional half-day model, students remain enrolled at their sending (partner) high school while spending part of each school day at NOCCA for arts training. NOCCA credits transfer to the student's home school and apply toward graduation requirements ⁹. Students from over 100 public, private, parochial, and home schools attend in the afternoon or late-day under this model ².

The Academic Studio, launched in fall 2011, is NOCCA's full-day, diploma-granting high school option. Up to approximately 250 of NOCCA's roughly 600-member student body attend the Academic Studio, while the remainder attend the arts-only conservatory on a half-day basis ¹⁰. The Academic Studio curriculum is organized around integrated humanities and integrated sciences courses taught in a team-based, project-oriented environment, with block scheduling dividing each cohort into two groups ⁸¹⁰. The model emphasizes collaboration, inquiry, and critical thinking, and students complete a culminating Student Portfolio Project presented at an annual Academic Symposium ⁸.

Student experience

Students at NOCCA train with a faculty of professional artists and visiting artists-in-residence. The NOCCA Institute, NOCCA's nonprofit partner, funds an Artists-in-Residence Program that brings more than 100 visiting artists into classrooms each year ². The student body draws from multiple parishes, communities, and backgrounds, and NOCCA states that its model serves "any Louisiana student who passes the audition" regardless of family resources or school district ¹².

Students are responsible for an annual student fee determined by their department's supply needs. The NOCCA Institute's Student Support Program provides financial assistance for these fees as well as for private music lessons, dance shoes, culinary knife kits, travel to competitions and auditions, college application fees, AP testing, and summer study programs. More than half of NOCCA students receive assistance through this program ¹²¹³.

Curriculum, assessment, and progression

In the half-day model, students take arts courses at NOCCA while completing academic coursework at their home school. In the Academic Studio, students earn four credits each in integrated humanities (combining English and history) and integrated sciences (combining math and science) over four years, plus two foreign language credits in French, and physical education and health requirements for students not in movement-intensive disciplines ¹⁰¹¹. Academic Studio students are required to take and pass all of the same LEAP and End-of-Course state tests required of other Louisiana public high school students ⁸¹¹.

Dual enrollment and college credit opportunities are available through articulation agreements with partner colleges. NOCCA has an articulation agreement with Northwestern State University of Louisiana for college credit, and various partner colleges provide dual enrollment for Academic Studio courses¹⁰. NOCCA also has a performance partnership with Loyola University New Orleans for the NOLA Funk Fest showcase.

Public, charter, private, nonprofit, program, network, or platform status

NOCCA is a public state agency, not a charter school, private school, or school district. It was created by state statute and is designated Agency 673 under "Special Schools and Commissions" in the Louisiana state budget ³⁴. It is governed by its own board of directors and is independent of the state superintendent and all local and state education boards ³. The NOCCA Foundation, also known as The NOCCA Institute, is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides supplemental funding, advocacy, and student support but does not operate the school².

State budget documents show NOCCA's total means of financing at approximately $11.2 million for FY 2025-26, with the majority coming from the state general fund (approximately $8.5 million) and interagency transfers (approximately $2.6 million) ⁴. Federal NCES data for the 2024-25 school year reports 224 total students and 65.56 FTE classroom teachers, yielding a student-teacher ratio of approximately 3.42, though this figure reflects the Academic Studio enrollment counted as a school district rather than the full NOCCA student body including half-day students ⁵¹⁴.

Locations and availability

NOCCA operates a single in-person campus at 2800 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70117, in the Bywater neighborhood. The school moved to this location in 2000 ¹². There is no virtual or online availability; all instruction is in person. The campus includes the Chevron Forum, a building expanded with funding from the NOCCA Institute to house the Academic Studio and Culinary Arts programs ¹².

Tuition, admissions, and eligibility

Tuition is free to all Louisiana students who meet audition requirements. Admission is by audition only, with an annual application season each fall for the following school year and auditions in the spring ¹⁶. Applicants may apply to only one arts discipline, and NOCCA recommends attending Open Studios and Audition Workshops to help decide ¹³. Students are scheduled for auditions by Student Services and cannot request specific dates or times ¹³.

Students pay an annual student fee determined by their department's supply needs. The NOCCA Institute's Student Support Program provides financial assistance, covering items such as arts and academic supply fees ($275 to $585), a year of required private music lessons ($900), knife kits and chef uniforms ($280), and school-sponsored travel ($1,000) ¹². Summer study awards typically range from $500 to $4,000 ¹².

NOCCA advises families to discuss scheduling options with their academic schools upon admission, noting that it offers a range of attendance options but cannot guarantee a partner school will accommodate NOCCA attendance ¹³.

Credits, transcripts, diplomas, and accreditation

• In the half-day model, NOCCA credits transfer to the student's home school and apply toward graduation requirements ⁹.
• The Academic Studio is a full-day, diploma-granting program; its graduates earn a Louisiana high school diploma and are eligible for the TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) University Diploma Program ¹⁰¹¹.
• The Academic Studio is described as "fully accredited by the State of Louisiana" ¹⁰.
• The verified facts block does not list specific accrediting bodies.
• Academic Studio students may earn college credit through dual enrollment arrangements with partner colleges¹⁰.

• Regarding the identity of NOCCA's individual founder or founders, the school's website states it was founded by "a diverse coalition of artists, educators, business leaders, and community activists" but names no single individual.
• No authoritative source identifies a sole founder, and some local histories may credit specific cultural leaders, but these remain unconfirmed ¹².

Evidence and outcomes

NOCCA reports that 95 to 98 percent of its graduates go on to college and conservatory programs, and that approximately 80 percent of students receive scholarships to pursue higher education (school-reported) ¹. The Academic Studio received a letter grade of "A" from the Louisiana State Department of Education and was described as one of three high schools in Orleans Parish to receive that distinction and the only open-enrollment high school among them ¹¹.

NCES data for the 2024-25 school year reports 224 students at the Academic Studio site with 65.56 FTE teachers ⁵. NOCCA describes its total student body as approximately 600 across both the half-day and full-day programs ¹⁰. The discrepancy reflects that NCES counts only the diploma-granting Academic Studio as a school, while half-day conservatory students remain enrolled at their home schools.

Best fit

NOCCA may be a fit for Louisiana students in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate artistic talent and commitment in one of the eleven offered disciplines, and whose families can accommodate either a half-day schedule coordinated with a partner school or a full-day academic program. The institution is distinctive in combining tuition-free public funding with conservatory-level arts training, and the Academic Studio admits students by arts audition without regard to prior academic performance ¹⁰. Families should consider the logistics of transportation, the half-day schedule's compatibility with their current school, and the annual student fees when evaluating fit.

Questions parents should ask

• Will my student's current school accommodate the half-day NOCCA schedule, and how will credits transfer?
• What are the specific student fees for my student's chosen arts discipline, and is financial aid available through the NOCCA Institute?
• What is the current capacity and application timeline for the full-day Academic Studio?
• How does the integrated curriculum in the Academic Studio differ from a traditional high school course sequence?
• What college credit opportunities are available through dual enrollment for my student's arts discipline?

Sources

[1] "Who We Are," NOCCA, https://www.nocca.com/aboutnocca, accessed July 22, 2026. [2] "New Orleans Center for Creative Arts," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Center_for_Creative_Arts, accessed July 22, 2026. [3] "RS 17:1970.23 - New Orleans Center for Creative Arts; creation; purpose; governance," Louisiana Laws (Justia), https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2018/code-revisedstatutes/title-17/rs-17-1970.23/, accessed July 22, 2026. [4] "State of Louisiana Executive Budget - Agency 673," Louisiana Division of Administration, https://www.doa.louisiana.gov/media/4xepwbaw/19b-673.pdf, accessed July 22, 2026. [5] "Search for Public Schools - New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (220003601499)," NCES, https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?ID=220003601499, accessed July 22, 2026. [6] "Admissions Home," NOCCA, https://nocca.com/Admissions/, accessed July 22, 2026. [7] "The Arts of NOCCA," NOCCA, https://www.nocca.com/arts-programs, accessed July 22, 2026. [8] "Academic Studio," NOCCA, https://www.nocca.com/academic-studio, accessed July 22, 2026. [9] "Half-Day Instruction," NOCCA, https://nocca.com/halfdayinstruction, accessed July 22, 2026. [10] "Prospective Families," NOCCA, https://www.nocca.com/prospectivefamilies, accessed July 22, 2026. [11] "Academic Studio Full-Day School Receives Letter Grade A From The State Department of Education," NOCCA, https://nocca.com/academic-studio-full-day-school-receives-letter-grade-a-from-the-state-department-of-education/, accessed July 22, 2026. [12] "Student Support Program," NOCCA Foundation, https://noccafoundation.org/student-support-overview/, accessed July 22, 2026. [13] "Frequently Asked Questions," NOCCA, https://nocca.com/admissions/frequently-asked-questions/, accessed July 22, 2026. [14] "New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Louisiana," PlainSchools, https://plainschools.com/districts/new-orleans-center-for-creative-arts-la, accessed July 22, 2026.