Original Research by School Decision on Sarah Towles Reed High School
Sarah Towles Reed High School is a charter high school in New Orleans that serves the New Orleans East area. It is a regular public school, not a magnet or alternative school, and it is a relatively small high school. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a smaller number of Asian students and a very small number of white students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is high, indicating a student population that faces considerable economic challenges. Enrollment by grade shows a pattern that is common in many high schools: the number of students declines from ninth grade through twelfth grade, with the senior class notably smaller than the freshman class.
State testing data for this school was not available in the data we examined, so we cannot characterize its academic performance through proficiency rates or compare it to other schools. Similarly, the school’s graduation rate and chronic absenteeism rate were not reported, so we cannot speak to those outcomes. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these metrics and about how the school supports students to stay on track to graduate.
What is publicly reported and directly relevant to a family considering this school is that the charter network that operates it, Einstein Charter Schools, voted to close Sarah T. Reed High School after the current school year. The decision was driven by declining enrollment, low state performance grades that have persisted for several years, and a building that has not undergone major repairs since Hurricane Katrina. This means that the school is not accepting new students for the next academic year, and current students will need to find a new high school placement. The network’s other three schools are merging into a single K-8 campus.
The school is located in New Orleans East, a part of the city that has experienced significant change since Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans as a whole is a dense, historic city with a strong port and tourism economy, and it has seen population shifts and redevelopment in the decades since the storm. The housing market in the area around the school, as measured by typical home values, is lower than both the state and national benchmarks, consistent with the high-poverty student population.
For a parent or resident reading this, the essential takeaway is that Sarah Towles Reed High School is in its final year of operation. The school serves a high-poverty, predominantly minority student body from New Orleans East, and its academic performance data is not available in the standard state testing records. The closure decision, publicly reported, means that families should plan for a different high school option for the next school year.
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