History

Summerbridge

The roots of FirstLine Schools extend to the founding of New Orleans Summerbridge in 1990, a program designed to help fifth- and sixth-grade students from across New Orleans prepare for admission into the city’s top middle schools which were then nearly all private schools or academically selective public magnet schools. The summer program was taught by high school and college students, who led classes that were rigorous and fun. But it soon became apparent that there weren’t enough slots in strong middle schools for the number of aspiring students who wanted to attend.

James Lewis Extension School

In 1992, Summerbridge parents, community allies and the Summerbridge team led by Jay Altman decided to found an open-admissions public middle school to give their students the Summerbridge experience year-round. Lewis Extension began with four teachers and 100 students in an old school building belonging to St. Augustine Church in Treme. Parents worked around the clock for two weeks to paint rooms, knock down walls dividing old classrooms, prepare the playground and kitchen and find materials and supplies. They also volunteered as custodians, school secretaries, and crossing guards until the school could afford paid staff. Dr. Tony Recasner, a professor and administrator at Loyola, mentored the school in its first year and joined as School Director in 1994 when the school moved to the Saints Peter and Paul Church school building in Bywater to accommodate its growing enrollment.

New Orleans Charter Middle School

In 1998, James Lewis Extension School became New Orleans’ first charter school and was renamed New Orleans Charter Middle School. It was operated by Middle School Advocates, a nonprofit organization. NOCMS became the city’s highest-performing open-admissions middle school. The curriculum combined rigorous classes focused on systematic skill development with project-based learning and a rich infusion of the arts. Each year, over 80% of NOCMS graduates were accepted to selective magnet and independent high schools around the city and over 95% of the students who began as sixth graders remained at the school through eighth grade, countering a citywide trend of high student mobility.

Samuel J. Green Charter School

In 2005, the state approached Middle School Advocates to request that the group take over Samuel J. Green Middle School, a failing public school. That August the school reopened as a charter school serving all of the students previously enrolled in sixth through eighth grades and adding kindergarten through fifth grades. One week later the levees broke, spilling waters that inundated the city. The New Orleans Middle School campus was completely flooded and its building rendered unusable, while the Green campus took on a few feet of water but was quickly repaired. Green reopened in January, 2006.

Arthur Ashe Charter School

In fall, 2007, the Middle School Advocates used the charter for NOCMS to open a new school, Arthur Ashe Charter School. Ashe originally enrolled students in fourth through sixth grades, a kindergarten, first grade and seventh grade were added in fall, 2008, and second, third and eighth grades were added in fall, 2009.

FirstLine Schools

In 2008, Middle School Advocates changed its name to FirstLine Schools and and expanded its mission: to create and inspire great public schools in New Orleans by

directly operating schools, and
supporting education across the city by developing training programs for teachers and school leaders in open-admission public schools in New Orleans.

The Center for Education Reform identified New Orleans Charter Middle School as one of the “100 Best Bets” among U.S. charter schools.

Samuel J. Green Charter School on Valence St. in New Orleans