Public schools in the New Orleans area are noted for their dedication to excellence. For instance, the Ben Franklin public high school produces a high number of National Merit scholars among its college-bound graduates, while the public New Orleans Center for Creative Arts is designed to provide special instruction to artistically gifted students.
The following is a summary of data regarding New Orleans public schools as of the 2002–2003 school year.
Total enrollment: 70,246
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 78
junior high/middle schools: 35
senior high schools: 26
other: 12
Student/teacher ratio: Average 16.6:1 (2002–2003)
Teacher salaries
minimum: $25,439
maximum: $41,478
Funding per pupil: $6,501
New Orleans area public elementary and secondary schools are supplemented by 67 private schools. Catholic schools comprise the majority of the area's private schools, which also include other church-affiliated, non-denominational schools and special schools, including the nationally acclaimed Isidore Newman School.
Public Schools Information: New Orleans Public Schools, 4300 Almonaster Ave., New Orleans, LA 70126; telephone (504)942-3531
The New Orleans region supports eight four-year colleges and universities and two 2-year community colleges. Those in New Orleans include the University of New Orleans; Tulane University, a private nonprofit institution that includes Sophie Newcomb College for Women; Louisiana State University Medical Center, offering medical and dental education; Dil-lard University, one of the oldest predominantly African American institutions in the country; Loyola University; Our Lady of Holy Cross College; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Xavier University of Louisiana; and a branch of Southern Louisiana University, as well as several two-year colleges and vocational-technical schools.
The New Orleans Public Library, consisting of the Main Library and 12 branches, numbers nearly one million books in its collection, in addition to recordings, tapes, and films. It maintains the New Orleans City Archives as well as The Louisiana Division located on the third floor of the Main Library. The Division collects, through purchase and gift, all types of printed, manuscript, graphic, and oral resources relating to the study of Louisiana and its citizens. Other areas of interest include the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South. Included are books by or about Louisianians; city, regional, and state documents; manuscripts, maps, newspapers, periodicals, microfilms, photographs, slides, motion pictures, sound recordings, video tapes, postcards, and ephemera of every sort. The Genealogy Collection contains books, periodicals, microfilms, and CDROMs with emphasis on the Southeast United States, Nova Scotia, France, and Spain. The library also hosts a literacy program and a new African American Resource Center.
New Orleans also boasts several special libraries and collections. For instance, the W. R. Hogan Archive of New Orleans Jazz is housed by Tulane University's library. The Louisiana State Museum Historical Center library maintains a collection of French and Spanish colonial documents, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century maps, and nineteenth-century personal manuscripts. A 20,000-volume library at the World Trade Center of New Orleans collects works on import and export trade, travel, international relations, economics, and transportation.
Louisiana State University Medical Center conducts research on a variety of medical topics, such as oncology, cystic fibrosis, human development, hearing, eye diseases, and arteriosclerosis. The Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU is the "Best Of The Class," and is in the Top 10 Technology Incubators in the United States. It placed first in terms of average revenue growth in its client companies. Nearly 20 research centers at Tulane University conduct research on such topics as AIDS, politics, Mesoamerican ecology, and Latin America. Tulane University received a National Institutes of Health grant to build an $18 million biosafety lab specializing in the development of treatments and vaccines for emerging infectious diseases. The state-of-the-art facility is expected to have a global impact. The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University pursues research and maintains a library and archives in such subject areas as African American history and culture, ethnic minorities of the United States, civil rights, abolitionism, and Protestant denominations.
The Audubon Nature Institute's Center for Research of Endangered Species conducts research programs on reproductive physiology, endocrinology, genetics, embryo transfer, and others in hopes of ensuring survival of endangered species.
Public Library Information: New Orleans Public Library, 219 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112; telephone (504)529-READ; fax (504)596-2609