LHA Opens New Elementary Building

We are thrilled to announce the grand opening of the Langston Hughes Academy early elementary building! On September 18th,  we celebrated this momentous occasion with a heartfelt ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by esteemed members of the FirstLine and NOLA PS Board, along with friends, supporters, FirstLine staff members, and the wonderful families of FirstLine.

The event featured a brief ceremony with inspiring speeches from Dr. Sabrina Pence, FLS CEO, Dr. Avis Williams NOLA PS CEO, Carrie Bevans, LHA School Director, and Emily Hunyadi, LHA Elementary School Principal highlighting the importance of early education in shaping the futures of our children. Guests enjoyed guided tours of our state-of-the-art early education spaces, designed to foster a nurturing and engaging learning environment to support holistic education in mind, body, and spirit. 

The building is constructed in the classic New Orleans style of the surrounding Gentilly neighborhood, the brightly colored cottage features two age-appropriate classrooms that will accommodate up to 40 early learners and four teachers. Students will also have access to a large playground and the lush Edible Schoolyard teaching garden, named the Dreamkeeper Garden for poet Langston Hughes, the school’s namesake. The garden is home to a wide variety of edible fruits and vegetables, native plants and flowers, goats and chickens, as well as an impressive pollinator garden. Here, FirstLine’s youngest students will be able to continue their learning outside of the classroom, in the spirit of FirstLine’s holistic approach to education. 

A special thank you to everyone who attended and supported us on this journey, including the FirstLine Board, Dr. Williams, Superintendent of NOLA PS, NOLA PS staff,  FirstLine & LHA Operations Team, Lachin Architects, VPG Construction, the Goldring Family & Woldenberg Foundation, The RosaMary Foundation, and Cathy and Hunter Pierson. We are excited to see the positive impact this addition will have on our community and look forward to providing exceptional learning experiences for our youngest learners!