The Willow School (Louisiana)

Lusher Charter School
Address
7315 Willow Street 5624 Freret Street New Orleans, Louisiana , LA 70115 U.S.
Information
Type	Public Charter School
Motto	Celebrating cultural diversity through high academics and the arts.
Established	1917
School district	New Orleans Public Schools
Grades	K–12
Color(s)	Blue and Gold
Athletics conference	Louisiana High School Athletic Association
Mascot	Lions
Information	504-862-5110 505-304-3960
Website	School website

Lusher Charter School is a K-12 charter school in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, in the heart of the university area. Lusher is chartered by Advocates for Arts Based Education (AABE), which acts as the board for the entire school. Lusher School has three uptown campuses; the K-5 program is housed at the Willow Street campus, the middle and high schools are both located at the Fortier campus on Freret Street, and a temporary campus is housed at the Jewish Community Center on St. Charles Avenue.

General information

History

Lusher was founded in 1917 and for its first few decades only taught grades K-6 at its Willow Street campus. Then, in 1990, Lusher moved its sixth grade class into the unused Carrollton Courthouse building at 719 South Carrollton Avenue; the school then expanded to include seventh and eighth grades while keeping the Willow Street campus for its K-5 program. In 2003 however, the school began discussing the possibility of opening a high school. In 2005, the school applied to the Orleans Parish School Board to become a charter school and open a high school for the following school year but on April 11 of that year, the charter was denied. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina however, the school’s second attempt at gaining a charter was successful. Lusher Charter High School opened its doors for the first time on January 17, 2006 with 48 students and only 9th and 10th grades and six high school only teachers (one for each subject: math, science, social studies, English, French and Spanish). The high school was housed at the Carrollton Courthouse with the middle school for its first semester. Due to space limitations at the Carrollton campus, both the middle school and high school had to find a new home. In August 2006, both schools moved to their new Alcee Fortier High School campus on Freret Street.

Filming for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant took place at Lusher's Fortier campus during spring 2008. In May, Lusher's first senior class of thirty-five students was offered over two million dollars in college scholarships and included three national merit winners and a semifinalist for a Presidential Scholarship in the Arts. In summer of 2009, the Brees Family Field was completed with the assistance of Drew and Brittany Brees and the Brees Dream Foundation.

The class of 2011 earned over $11.9 million in scholarship and merit awards. According to the Louisiana Department of Education's academic ratings, Lusher, K-12, was a 4 star high school from 2007-2009 and became a 5 star school (highest possible rating) in 2010. In fall, 2010, Lusher was rated an A+ school by the Louisiana Department of Education and is the highest performing K-12 school in the state of Louisiana.

Administration

• CEO/Head of School - Kathy Riedlinger
• Elementary School Principal - Sheila Nelson
• Middle School Principal - Brenda Bourne
• High School Principal - Wiley Ates

I go 2 Lusher

Project Pride

The core value system of Lusher consists of a set of four rules known as the “Project Pride” which was conceived by CEO/Head of School Kathy Riedlinger and is used in all grades from kindergarten through 12th grade. "Project Pride" sets the tone for the special culture that exists in the Lusher community.

1. Be Kind
2. Be Responsible
3. Respect People and Property
4. Do Your Best Work

Student government

Constitution

The Lusher Charter High School Student Government Association is organized by a constitution which has been written, ratified and revised by students since 2005. The preamble to the current constitution, ratified by the Student Body on May 5, 2008 states:

"As active and concerned members of Lusher Charter High School and the Lusher community, for the purposes of giving equal and fair representation to the students at Lusher Charter High School, ensuring our continuation as active members in our community, promoting school spirit, securing the safety, trust and education of the students, providing a basis for academic and artistic achievement and keeping Lusher Charter School in good standing with other schools and the community, we do herby ordain and establish this document as the constitution for the Lusher Charter High School Student Government."

Student Council shall consist of:

• An elected Student Body President
• An elected Student Body Vice President;
• An elected Student Body Secretary;
• An elected Student Body Treasurer;
• Three elected Class Senators from each graduating class;
• The Class President of each graduating class; and
• The Class Vice President of each graduating class.

Clubs

Lusher High School has many different clubs and other student organizations spanning a broad array of interests. As of September 2008 the high school has eighteen officially registered clubs.

List of Clubs

The current list of recognized and established clubs (as of August 2009) is listed below:

• Quiz Bowl Team
• Film Club
• KEY Club
• World Language and Culture Club
• French Club
• Urban Farming Club
• Lusher Post-Diluvian (student newspaper)
• Lusher Podcast Project
• Psychology Club
• Culinary Club
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (F.C.A.)
• National Honor Society
• Spanish Honor Society
• Invisible Children [1]
• Chess Club
• Hispanic Club
• Debate Team

External links

• EducateNow! website
• Lusher Charter School website
• Lusher Podcast Project website