John M Donald ran a shipping and receiving business out of Baltimore…read more In 1845 he shut his business down (where he employed slaves) and moved his business to NOLA. Before he left Baltimore, he freed all of his slaves and gave them money to start their lives. Then he opened a success port business in NOLA . He brought 100 acres of the 1600 acre park and donated it to the City Park Foundation. Before he died, he freed all of his New Orleans slaves, and also gave them money to start a life with. He build homes for the poor and pretty much gave them away. When he died, he had given money to start public schools in New Orleans and Baltimore. Prior to hurricane Katrina there were 42 John McDonald schools. He was a very generous man and gave away most of his life's savings.

I don't know about you, but my high school wasn't 1/10 as cool as this NOCCA. I daresay at that…read moretime, there wasn't anything that came close. Oh, I had unrealistic dreams of going to the Fame high school in NYC, of course. Yep. Just dreams. And truth be told, in the grand scheme of things, my HS had a decent music and theater program going on. BUT IT WAS NO NOCCA. Ahem. Since I don't go to this damn school, I can't give a firsthand review of that, just to note that the programs they offer are truly fantastic- culinary, music-both classical *and* jazz, creative writing, theater and more *swoon* And it's public! I saw a production of Balm in Gilead at NOCCA in their black box theater, and although the production was put on by a group not affiliated with NOCCA, I was truly impressed with this state-of-the-art theater overall. Acoustics & lighting were spot-on (har) and there are excellent sight lines. My only issue was that the seats are hard and uncomfortable. I mean *really* uncomfortable, as in torture devices. And it's not like I don't have enough cushion of my own, just sayin'.

I'm suppose to go here for Classical Instruments but overall its an amazing school. Awesome…read moreTeachers, campus, and Students. The place is open and full of talented people. Amazing Place! High security as well. There's a guard every hour and every day of the week. That's all I can say. The only problem would be the parking. Its hard to Find! Love how its by the French Quarter (You literally can walk there!)

So far My son and I are loving this school. I'm going to start off with the Cons because I honestly…read moredon't have many. The neighborhood that the school is in has terrible roads. Most of the houses in the immediate area are French Style New Orleans homes so it's really cute. Just be aware that if you drive a couple blocks down in the wrong direction the roads will start tearing apart and scenery will change. I've told a few people my son will be attending this school and most ppl applaud the news. I hear great feedback from other parents of a mix of different races and I've only heard good things about them. During orientation they stressed about how they are a school who welcomes families of different cultures and students who have differences. And I feel like they mean it. During orientation one of the teachers was giving a story about how much they care about their students and how racism is around us so much and the students who attend this school will learn how to accept one another and learn and understand the different cultures of different races and learn to love one another. The lady was in tears at the end of her speech and I just knew she meant every word of it. We did apply for a scholarship to attend the school, we applied rather early and we got in. They have an online system to pay for lunch, field trips, donations etc.. which I think is very organized. They do have a bus service for New Orleans parish residence, for Jefferson Parish, parents have to pay for bus service. Inside the school is very clean, everything looks fairly new, colorful, bright, and organized. I'm really picky so yes I looked around. The equipment in the cafeteria also looked fairly new and clean. They stress the importance of music, art, and physical education. Which most schools do not. Also they have a speech therapist at the school. Some people tried to discourage me from bringing my son to a language school when he has some catching up to do with his speech. It's amazing to see that he's not the only child who struggles with speech and they have professionals there to help regardless if he's learning one language or two. They also have after school programs like home work help if they stay in after school care, science club, and Soccer Shots. My son just started attending, we find out who our teacher is on Monday but I'm really excited, some say it may be challenging but we are ready for it.

A new Orleans school that can have classes, federal and local voting and open house day - all on…read moreNovember 4th is a rarity that deserves all the praise!

Best school for young men. I have one that graduated during covid and the school did the best under…read morethe conditions. I have a son that is starting 8th grade and looking forward to the next 5 yrs. We Love Jesuit and are a Jesuit family. Father Brown is a great leader.

I go there, and it is totally worth your money. Most Jesuit high schools in other areas can be way…read moremore expensive.