The principal for Leah Chase School has resigned from the district’s only direct-run school.
“Please know that this was not a decision I made lightly,” Principal Crystal LaFrance wrote, in an Oct. 8 letter to the school community.
Despite stable academics and enrollment, school proponents say, the sizable budget gaps at Leah Chase School have raised questions about the viability of the school.
In early 2024, LaFrance was charged with opening the Leah Chase School, the district’s only direct-run school within a system that’s otherwise all-charter. It operates out of the former Lafayette Academy building on South Carrollton Avenue.
In the fall of 2025, the Leah Chase School started its second school year with LaFrance again at the helm.
It is unclear what prompted LaFrance’s mid-year resignation. She could not be reached for comment.
A teacher who had worked under LaFrance was puzzled at the development, calling her a hardworking and an inspirational leader.
In 2024, the educator said, LaFrance had been thrilled with the idea of launching Leah Chase.
LaFrance echoed that sentiment in Wednesday’s parting letter. “This journey of building our school from the ground up has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” she wrote.
Sole district-run school in a city of charters
In 2019, New Orleans became the first major American city with no traditional public schools.
But four years later, in the spring of 2023, after closing the F-rated Lafayette Academy, then-superintendent Avis Williams abruptly reversed her decision to shutter Lafayette’s building. Instead, she announced, the district itself would create and directly operate a new school within the grand South Carrollton edifice.
It was renamed after Leah Chase, the late, great chef and community leader.
Without question, Williams acknowledged, it would be difficult and costly to stand up a single school in such a short time period. The district estimated startup costs at $3.8 million.
But Williams and her staff at the district seemed determined, working with LaFrance and other newly hired school leaders to swiftly bring on a staff of highly regarded veteran teachers and to create an arts-integrated curriculum worthy of the school’s namesake.
The new school launched with kindergarten through fifth grade, dropping the middle-school grades that Lafayette Academy had offered, with a plan to add back the grades one year at a time. The staggered start has often been used with brand-new charter schools in New Orleans; it’s typically described as a “slow-growth school.”
But fewer grades meant fewer students — and less per-pupil income.
In September, district officials reported to the Orleans Parish School Board that the school’s operating budget would end the school year $500,000 in the red.
Data show that the school’s academics and enrollment seem stable. Leah Chase finished out its first school year with 284 students. This year, it added sixth grade and hired an additional two teachers. Its enrollment grew to 354, according to an employee.
But an unusual proportion of the new students had special needs, according to a district employee who feared retribution if their name was used. It appears the district was caught off guard by the need for six specialized instructors, including three paraprofessionals and two special education teachers. “Positions were added to comply with legislative requirements or requirements identified within a student’s IEP,” the September report stated.
Before Hurricane Katrina, the district had special education teachers who worked out of the central office to serve students with specialized needs throughout the city. But that large-scale centralized support doesn’t exist in today’s system of charters.
So starting up Leah Chase School required starting up an entirely new special-education department as well. As the district has seen before, if a new school gets a reputation of doing well with special-needs students, it often attracts more students with IEPs. That can be a struggle in the decentralized district.
Unfulfilled Promises
To live up to its namesake’s legacy, the school would adopt a trailblazing mission, NOLA Public Schools announced in February 2024: “It aspires to be more than an educational institution; it aims to become a beacon of cultural richness, amplifying the voice of New Orleans’ history.”
“The school’s comprehensive approach will include opportunities for clubs, field trips, and enriching courses such as arts and culture, music, physical education, and social and emotional support,” the district announced. “Local partnerships will further enhance the educational experience, honoring the legacy of Leah Chase and the rich history and traditions of New Orleans.”
Initially, the school brimmed with culture, including programming by the New Orleans Ballet Association and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. There were partnerships with local art museums and Studio B, with KIDsmART and STEM NOLA.
This year, to accommodate a tightened budget, the “beacon of cultural richness” has dimmed.
The school now offers no extracurriculars — no sports, no arts, no tutoring — according to the district source, who couldn’t name a single arts program that still existed within the Leah Chase building.
