The Orleans Public Education Network awarded Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy its first School and Community Partnership Award.

The honor was given for the school’s work with organizations like The Silverback Society, Play Power, 21st Century Learning Initiative, Safe Schools/Healthy Students, STAIR, SUNO Museum Studies, the Early Childhood and Family Learning Foundation and Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools.

Members of each organization attended Monday night’s meeting of Harney’s board of directors for recognition by board members and staff.

“Partnerships are hard work,” school CEO Eileen Williams said. “Kudos to the Harney staff for making partnerships work.”

The Orleans Public Education Network, according to its website, is a non-profit organization whose goal “is to ensure every child in New Orleans has access to a quality public school and give all citizens the opportunity to participate in the process of how schools operate in Orleans Parish.”

The board also voted to approve spending for an additional teacher to assist students who struggle with English. Williams reported the school recently enrolled a student who speaks Mandarin and that the school has seen a general increase in the number of Spanish-speaking students at the school.

The board also approved a request from chief financial officer Brent Washington to purchase software that would back up the school’s financial data online.