Langston Hughes Academy’s Marching Eagles band, dancers and majorette unit participated in six Carnival parades this season, including two on the West Bank and one in Metairie.  “How the parents made it all the way across town, on-time, every time is beyond me,” chief operating officer Adrian Morgan said in a report to the school’s board of directors at NOLA 180’s monthly meeting, Feb. 28.

Finance committee member Paul Pechon reported that the school is on solid footing.

A Governance Committee report was put off for a month because personnel changes at the Recovery School District in the week prior to Mardi Gras delayed its completion.

Board member Kristina Kent said the recent construction of a school playground by the KABOOM! non-profit was a
huge success that attracted over 250 volunteers.

The school’s Dreamkeeper Garden also drew community support – more than 40 volunteers, including Tulane students, employees of the Hyatt Regency and New Orleans Outreach and a recent LHA alumnus.

By this time next year, garden staff expect to be harvesting a huge winter crop of leafy greens, herbs and flowers and plucking fresh eggs from a newly built chicken coop, Kent said.  There will be an Open Garden Day at the school on  Saturday, March 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to participate and a free lunch will be served.

On Feb. 29, Langston Hughes was scheduled to host a Family Reading Night to promote reading in the home. The school has made it into the final round of a competition for a reading grant potentially worth $5 million. The decision is expected in coming weeks.

All board members and an audience of two people were present for the meeting, which lasted a little less than half an hour.