FirstLine Schools is grateful for the support of our donors who are making a lasting impact in our school communities. To join in our efforts to create and inspire great, open admissions public schools in New Orleans contact Shannon Cian at scian@firstlineschools.org.
Or, make a gift today to support our students and staff.
Partners from the Ground Up: New Orleans Town Gardeners
As Edible Schoolyard New Orleans (ESYNOLA) celebrates its 19th anniversary, we are thrilled to highlight, elevate, and express our deep gratitude for a very special partner: New Orleans Town Gardeners (NOTG). Without NOTG’s unwavering support and partnership, ESYNOLA would not be thriving across FirstLine’s four school campuses.
NOTG has been a vital partner since the inception of ESYNOLA in 2006, but their history began even earlier, in 1998, with PropaGators gardening classes at New Orleans Charter Middle School (NOCMS)–the precursor to FirstLine Schools. The PropaGators classes, which cultivated both the soil and the enthusiasm of students, laid the groundwork for the nationally acclaimed ESYNOLA program–an inspiring first replication of the program founded by chef and activist Alice Waters in Berkeley, Ca.
Exciting Growth in the Arts!
We are thrilled to share some fantastic news about the continued growth of arts enrichment programs at FirstLine Schools! Thanks to the generosity of our community partners, we have received two significant grant awards that will directly enhance opportunities for our students.
The New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund awarded FirstLine $40,000 to support band programs across all four sites.
Additionally, we are honored to have received a $10,000 grant from the New Orleans Theatre Association to elevate the network’s talented theatre program.
The Murphy Foundation and Presqu’ile Wines
We are proud to recognize our longtime partners, the Murphy Foundation and Presqu’ile Wines. Since An Edible Evening began in 2011, the Murphy Foundation has served as lead sponsor, with Presqu’ile as our exclusive wine purveyor.
Presqu’ile is a multigenerational family winery in Santa Barbara County’s Santa Maria Valley, founded in 2007 by Madison and Suzanne Murphy and their adult children—who also lead the Murphy Foundation. The winery’s name, pronounced press-KEEL, comes from a French/Creole word meaning “almost an island,” a tribute to the Murphy family’s former gathering place on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
