The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bricolage Academy
Bricolage Academy is a charter school in New Orleans serving prekindergarten through seventh grade. It is a regular public school operating as its own single-school district, which is an important structural detail: the school and the district are the same entity, so there is no separate district office setting policy at a remove from the classroom. The school is located on Esplanade Avenue in the city’s historic core.
Enrollment is modest for a school of this grade span, with roughly the same number of students in each grade from kindergarten through seventh grade, plus a smaller prekindergarten. The student body is majority Black, with a substantial share of White students, a smaller Hispanic population, and a group of students who identify as two or more races. Just over six in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a proxy for household economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records, so a parent interested in those programs would need to ask the school directly.
On the state’s LEAP 2025 assessments, Bricolage’s results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, roughly two in five students scored at the proficient level or above. In math, the share was smaller, at about one in five. Science and social studies results were in between. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects places the school below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Orleans Parish. The school’s participation rates on the tests were very high, suggesting that nearly every enrolled student took the assessments, which gives the results a complete picture. A parent may want to look into how the school supports students who are not yet at the proficient mark, particularly in math and science, and how it handles acceleration for students who are ready for more.
Because the school ends at seventh grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available in the records. The school’s disciplinary record, course access, and staffing ratios were also not included in the data provided. A parent would want to ask about class sizes, teacher retention, and the range of elective or enrichment offerings, especially for the upper elementary and middle grades.
The school’s parent district, which is itself, turned up no recent publicly reported changes or strategic initiatives of note in the available research. This does not mean the school is static; it means the research sweep did not find a public record of a new building plan, a curriculum overhaul, or a leadership transition. A parent visiting the school or its website would be wise to ask about any recent or planned changes to the instructional model, facilities, or staffing.
New Orleans is a dense, historic city with a distinctive cultural identity and a centralized urban school-choice environment. Families who choose Bricolage are opting into a charter school that is part of the city’s broader landscape of school options rather than a traditional attendance-zone system. The housing market in the school’s zip code shows home values that are somewhat above the state median but below the national median, with rents near the city average. The area has seen a modest recent decline in home values, which a family considering a move should weigh against broader market conditions. The city’s economy is anchored by the port, tourism, the film industry, and institutions like Tulane University. The city has experienced population shifts in the years since Hurricane Katrina, with redevelopment and concerns about gentrification in some neighborhoods.
For a parent trying to understand who Bricolage serves, the profile is a charter school in a major urban district-choice market with a student body that is economically diverse but tilting toward lower-income, and with academic proficiency numbers that are below the midpoint for the parish. A family considering the school will want to examine how the school’s program, culture, and academic support match their child’s needs, since the testing data alone does not tell the full story of what a student experiences day to day.
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