In 2008, a coalition of parents, educators, and community leaders in the Mid-City and St. John neighborhoods began working toward a vision of organizing a community around the education of its children. Dozens of door-to-door campaigns and small-group meetings in homes and church halls shaped that vision. The focus remained on families’ dreams for the ideal school for their children and our city. Their vision was to create a school that reflects the city's diversity both in the children who would attend and in the education they would receive; a school that is child-centered and about more than just test scores. Morris Jeff Community School is the fulfillment of that vision.
In October 2009, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved Morris Jeff Community School’s Type 5 Charter Application. The school’s application won a ringing endorsement from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), which called it “one of the strongest applications they have ever reviewed.”
The school opened its doors in 2010 on Poydras Street as one of the most racially and economically diverse open-access public schools in the history of New Orleans. Outgrowing the Poydras location, the school was temporarily housed on Esplanade Avenue in 2013 while waiting for a final move to its newly constructed facility (211 South Lopez) in 2015. The emerging high school moved to 1301 N. Derbigny (Clark campus) in 2018, awaiting a permanent facility. The middle school (Grades 6-8) occupied a temporary facility on Esplanade for one year before moving into its current campus at 3819 Saint Claude (Drew campus) in 2022. In fall 2023, the high school made the William Frantz School its permanent home at 3811 North Galvez (Frantz campus). The Lopez campus continues to serve elementary students in PreK-5th grade.
Since 2020-2021, Morris Jeff Community School has served children in grades PreK to Grade 12, with a strong focus on languages, the arts, and the development of the whole child. Our graduates are few and mighty as they pursue university, military service, and career pathways in our city and worldwide.
As a city, New Orleans is transforming; the notion of community is at the heart of that transformation. Morris Jeff Community School is an example of that spirit. Our school has decided no longer to wait on outside forces to create change but to create change on our own for the benefit of the community as a whole.
Our Namesake: Morris F.X. Jeff, Sr.
Morris F.X. Jeff, Sr., was a civic leader and pioneer in establishing educational and recreational opportunities for young people in New Orleans. Born in Morgan City in 1914, Mr. Jeff moved to New Orleans with his family as a boy. He later graduated from McDonogh 35 High School and Xavier University and earned a Master's Degree from the University of Michigan.
After working as a teacher and as a laborer through the WPA (Works Progress Administration), Mr. Jeff earned a position in the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD). In 1947, he became head of the “Colored Division” and pioneered education and recreation programs for the city’s children. Under his leadership, NORD built a reputation as one of the nation’s best recreational districts. Mr. Jeff retired from NORD in 1986 and died in 1993.
In the late 1990s, McDonogh 31 Elementary School in Bayou St. John was renamed Morris F. X. Jeff, Sr. Elementary School. Morris Jeff Community School continues Mr. Jeff’s powerful legacy.
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