New Orleans, LA

August 2009

School Days

Langston Hughes Academy becomes the first new school to open since Hurricane Katrina. FEMA obligated more than $30 million to help make it happen.

Welcome parents, scholars, dreamkeepers, local elected officials, esteemed guests, and members of the Langston Hughes Academy Charter School family. My name is John Alford and I am the founder of Langston Hughes and CEO of NOLA 180. Welcome to the brand new Langston Hughes School facility.

Our mission simply stated is to prepare each of our 487 scholars for college. Since we���re a k to 8 school and not a k to 12 school, the way we do that is by giving them the academic skills and habits they need to succeed in the best high schools in New Orleans.

Today is the opening of the first school since the storm. And I think this is a hugely important event, because it really represents what���s possible when people collaborate.

I think it���s also important because in addition to seeing the school open, you���re really seeing a committed leader at the school, you���re seeing a set of motivated educators at the school, you���re seeing a bunch of really encouraging energetic youth at the school, so really it���s not just a school opening, but for us we see this as a real opportunity for improving education and driving education reform.

Certainly today���s ribbon cutting is a great beginning for the hundreds of students at this school whose lives will be forever shaped by the lesson they learned here. This is a great example of what can be done when we work together at the local, state and federal levels.

The economic development of this school in New Orleans is pretty tremendous. It frankly allows us to take our kids out of substandard temporary facilities and put them into superior 21st century facilities.

Let me begin by saying thank you for the beautiful new school building. Seeing it and knowing that we are the first scholars to use it makes me very happy.

This is a school that wants all students to go to high school and college. Being a part of this school means a lot to me, my community and the city that I love so much. Thanks for all that you have done for Langston Hughes and thanks for your time.