NSNO News of Note

Over the past five years, New Schools for New Orleans has partnered with NOLA-PS to better understand the relationship between enrollment trends and school financial sustainability. That work began as the Enrollment Landscape Analysis and has evolved into what is now the School Sustainability Analysis.

 

The School Sustainability Analysis is designed to deliver detailed insights on factors that impact school financial sustainability, including enrollment trends, future enrollment estimates, and access to quality school facilities. These insights are tailored to help inform decisions that impact school sustainability across our system, which in turn impacts academic outcomes and opportunities for students.

At its core, a focus on school sustainability means asking the question: Do we have the right system conditions to use our resources efficiently and effectively so students can succeed? Resources matter, resources are limited, and what we've learned is that efficiency improves outcomes. And right now, enrollment trends make efficiency more important than ever.

 

Want to dig deeper into the findings from the 2025–26 School Sustainability Analysis? Join us Friday, February 27, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:00 AM CT for a live webinar where we'll walk through the data, key takeaways, and what it means for students, schools, and our city. Click here to register. After registering, you'll receive a confirmation email with details on how to join.

the enrollment reality

K–8: Over the past five years, K–8 enrollment in Orleans Parish has declined by nearly 3,000 students (down 9%) due to declining birth rates, continued outmigration of families from the city, and a decline in international immigration into the city in the past year.

High School: While 9th–12th grade enrollment increased steadily for several years, that growth was driven by larger “bubble” cohorts moving through the system. That bubble has now matriculated out. This year's 9th-grade cohort is 473 students smaller than the 2022 cohort — an 11% decline. 

While total enrollment has decreased, average enrollment at most individual schools has increased due to closures and consolidations. Between 2021–22 and 2025–26, the number of K–8 schools decreased from 55 to 47. While overall enrollment declined, enrollment at schools that remained open increased by more than 1,500 students. At the individual school level, twice as many schools increased enrollment as decreased over this same time period.

 

Right-sizing works, but we are not done. Even after recent closures:

Under-enrollment and “empty” seats mean schools are spending a larger proportion of their money on fixed costs like building maintenance, utilities, and transportation, and a smaller proportion of their dollars on variable costs that are critical to helping students achieve academically (teachers, interventionists, curriculum, student technology, tutoring, etc.) and thrive in school (social workers, counselors, arts, music, sports, and other extracurriculars). When a school is “fully” or “efficiently” enrolled, fixed costs are covered, and the school has a healthy per-pupil budget to afford the people, programs, and materials our students and educators need to continue the incredible academic gains we've seen in recent years.

 

Without strategic action, existing schools will struggle financially, dollars will be stretched thin, and the great academic gains we've seen could stall.

The opportunity 

The good news is that our schools are continuing to see academic progress. When federal ESSER dollars flowed into the system, New Orleans was one of the only large districts in the country to convert that investment into measurable academic gains on NAEP and other assessments. We have shown what is possible when resources are aligned with strong school leadership and effective strategy. Now, with federal relief dollars expired and enrollment declining, sustainability requires:

This moment is not just about contraction. It is about optimization. Done well, sustainability efforts allow:

School sustainability is not just about balancing budgets. It is about protecting academic progress and ensuring every dollar possible is directed toward student success. By thoughtfully strengthening our system, we can ensure that every dollar works harder for students and that our schools continue to thrive for years to come.

Our mission is to deliver on the promise of excellent public schools for every child in New Orleans.