History of FirstLine Schools

1990: Summerbridge (now called Breakthrough)

The roots of FirstLine Schools trace to the founding of this unique summer program designed to help 5^th and 6^th grade students gain acceptance into top middle schools in order to gain admission to college preparatory high school programs.

1992: James Lewis Extension

Working with a group of concerned parents, Jay Altman and the Summerbridge team founded this school, with 100 students and four teachers.  Dr. Tony Recasner became the school’s director in 1993.

1998: New Orleans Charter Middle School (NOCMS)

James Lewis Extension converted into the city’s first charter school and adopted a new name.  NOCMS became the top-performing open-admissions middle school in New Orleans. Flooding from Hurricane Katrina destroyed the building and led to NOCMS’ closure.

2005: Samuel J Green Charter School

Middle School Advocates (the former name of FirstLine Schools) was approached by the state and asked to take over the failing Green Middle School.  Green opened as a K-8 charter school the week before Katrina.  The school reopened in January 2006.

2007: Arthur Ashe Charter School

Using the NOCMS charter to open a new K-8 school (later renamed Arthur Ashe), the school opened with fewer than 50 students and has grown to its current enrollment of over 400 students. In 2012 Ashe is moving to a brand new campus in the Lake Park neighborhood of Gentilly.

2010: John Dibert Community School & Langston Hughes Academy

Dibert became a FirstLine school in the Fall of 2010, after a request from the community to get involved.  FLS began operating Langston Hughes Academy, via a management contract, at the same time. 

2011: Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School

The doors opened on the newly chartered Clark Prep in August 2011.  FirstLine’s first high school is a turnaround of an existing school.