Welcome to

The New Orleans Charter
Science & Mathematics High School
"N.O. SciHigh"

Below: Read about our new School Director
SciHigh Today

The post-Katrina public high school situation dictated a new model for SciHigh. In October, 2005, a mere 60 days after Katrina hit the New Orleans levee system, The Advocates for Science & Mathematics Education, Inc. applied for and were granted a Type III charter by the Orleans Parish School Board. Responding to the new environment, including the fact that only 4 other high schools were opened in New Orleans after the storm, the original half-day program became a full-day program offering all subjects required for graduation. As of this writing, we are one of only three open admissions public high schools in New Orleans not operated by the State Recovery School District (formed, prior to Katrina, to take over 18 failed high schools in the Orleans Parish public school system). Here are the elements of the new SciHigh:

• Open admissions policy because we believe every interested student deserves an opportunity to attend regardless of their previous educational experience
  
• Small enrollment to ensure small classes and maximum teacher to student time
  
• Science and mathematics integrated throughout the curriculum
  
• An 7.5 hour school day with a wide variety of electives such as anatomy, nutrition, photography and computer repair
  
• Special programs to improve student reading comprehension
  
• Summer Science Internships that give each graduate a taste of authentic professional scientific work experience

In the challenging post-Katrina environment, with a student body 80% of whom are new to SciHigh, we have been able to reestablish the learning culture of the school and are working towards the same high achievement levels as before the storm.

History

For over 13 years, the New Orleans Center for Science & Math operated as a half day program within the Orleans Parish School System offering specialized instruction in science, math, and technology, providing an open door to any interested New Orleans high school student. Students attended partner schools for their other graduation requirements. This school is one of only two specialty science and math schools in the country with an open admissions policy and with a majority of females and African American students, 90% of whom are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Guiding Principle

SciHigh believes students with a broad range of scholastic aptitudes can master science and mathematics concepts and information at a high level given the proper culture, faculty and school leader.

Achievements

Although not selective in our admissions, SciHigh students consistently did as well or better than students in the selective Orleans Parish magnet schools.

• College Acceptances – 95% of our 2005 graduates were accepted into college and/or universities.Of those accepted, the class of 2005 received $1,340,000 in scholarship offers.
• 2005 State Exit Exam (GEE) – 97% of our students passed the science section on the first sitting, while 95% passed the math section on their first try.Of these, 30% (in science) and 50% (in mathematics) scored in the highest two (out of five) categories of achievement.These scores were better than all other local schools except one highly selective high school.
• The High Schools that Work Program of which SciHigh has been a part from its inception gives a version of the National Assessment of Educational Progress every four years to seniors only. On the two occasions when our seniors took the test, they out-scored in science and mathematics students from the “high scoring schools” where the average senior read at the 70^th national percentile. Our average seniors read at national average when we last took the test in 2004.
• Robotics – For a second year, our team represented New Orleans at the FIRST regional competition in Atlanta and progressed to the semi-finals coming in finally in the top 15% of the teams.In the third year, our faculty advisor helped to launch teams from three additional New Orleans public high schools all of whom competed well.

We see these results as evidence that students even with weak academic preparation and a broad range of scholastic aptitudes can master science and mathematics concepts when given a culture of high expectations and a respect for work and one another.

Our New School Director: Bridget D. Ramsey

Mrs. Bridget Ramsey is a New Orleans native with more than fifteen years of educational experience in administrative and instructional leadership.

Most recently, Mrs. Ramsey served as Director of the Academy Charter High School in Westminster, Colorado. Prior to this position, she served as a teacher leader at Littleton High School in Littleton, Colorado; as International Baccalaureate Diploma Program coordinator and teacher in Fairfax, Virginia; and as a language arts teacher in several different schools.

Mrs. Ramsey holds a Master of Secondary Education from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, and a B.A. from St. Mary’s Dominican College, New Orleans, LA. She is currently finishing her doctorate at the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado.

Mrs. Ramsey has extensive experience with curriculum design and delivery, instruction and assessment, teacher and school community development, program administration and fiscal oversight. Given her experience in schools similar to our own, her history of ensuring academic excellence, and her commitment to New Orleans, we consider ourselves fortunate to have Mrs. Ramsey as the new Director of The New Orleans Charter Science & Mathematics High School. We look forward to her leadership as we work together to continually develop as an outstanding academically rigorous, open admissions high school.

Mrs. Ramsey will begin her position on July 1, 2007. You are welcome to make an appointment with the school if you would like to meet Mrs. Ramsey over the summer.

In the News

Read more about our school in local and national news:

• Formula for Success-March, 2007. The Times-Picayune
• The First Lady Visits -April, 2007. The White House Press. The Times-Picayune