The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School for Sci Tech
Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School for Sci Tech serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade as a single charter school campus in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. It is a regular public school operating under a charter, overseen by the Orleans Parish School Board. The building sits on Fats Domino Avenue, in a dense urban part of the city shaped by a mix of historic neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and major civic infrastructure including the Superdome and the convention center.
The school’s enrollment is large for a facility covering the full PK-12 span, drawing a student body that is overwhelmingly Black, with a small Hispanic share and very small numbers from other racial groups. A substantial portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not available in the records reviewed.
State assessment results for grades three through eight show proficiency rates that place the school in the bottom quartile among districts in Orleans Parish overall. In math, reading and English language arts, science, and social studies, the share of students scoring proficient or above is in the low single digits or teens. Nearly all tested students participated in the assessments. These numbers represent the school’s current academic footing, and families considering the school will want to understand what supports are in place for students performing below grade level.
A significant change was announced late in 2024. The Orleans Parish School Board voted to close the high school division of Dr. Martin Luther King Charter at the end of the 2024-25 school year, citing low enrollment and poor academic performance. This means that for the 2025-26 school year and beyond, the high school grades are no longer operating on this campus. The K-8 portion of the school continues on a contingent three-year contract. High school students who would have attended here receive priority placement in the district’s centralized enrollment process for other schools. For a family researching this school, the closure of the high school component is the single most important operational fact: the school no longer provides a full PK-12 pathway. A parent with children in the upper grades should verify what grades the K-8 campus currently serves and how it interacts with the citywide high school placement system.
The charter itself operates without the changes or district-wide strategic initiatives that affect neighborhood schools in a traditional system; this charter is its own local education agency. The district brief from publicly reported sources identified no other recent structural changes beyond the high school closure.
New Orleans as a city context is a major port, a commercial hub, and a tourism and film industry center. The local housing market shows home values below the state benchmark and rental costs that have edged upward, consistent with patterns in many urban areas. The city’s post-Katrina redevelopment continues, with concerns about gentrification and displacement in some neighborhoods. The school’s Lower 9th Ward location is a community that has experienced particularly heavy population loss and uneven reinvestment since the storm, and families moving into the area will find a mix of rebuilding and vacant lots alongside historic houses.
For a family considering whether this school fits, the academic picture is clear: performance on state tests is weak across subjects, and the school sits well below the middle of the Orleans Parish district field. The high school closure eliminates the option of a single campus through graduation. The K-8 program remains open, but on a contingent contract, which introduces uncertainty about long-term stability. A parent drawn to the school for its community roots or its mission may want to ask the school directly about academic intervention programs, the specific grades currently served, and any plans for the K-8 contract renewal beyond the current three-year term. The data does not speak to the quality of teaching, the school climate, or extracurricular offerings, and those are areas a family would need to explore on a visit or through conversations with current families.
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