Our Vision: Transforming Public Education, From the Grassroots Up

As an open-access school, Morris Jeff Community School embraces learners of all backgrounds and holds each student to the highest expectations. Students are provided with a deep, rich curriculum that engages them in inquiry, develops strong critical thinking skills, and challenges them to a new level of learning. Our goal is to prepare students of Morris Jeff Community School to become lifelong learners.

But Morris Jeff Community School is not just about one school or one neighborhood.

We see ourselves as part of a movement to transform public education in our country. Our school was imagined and built out of thousands of conversations, with parents, community members, and professional educators. This grassroots approach to educational reform has created Morris Jeff as one of the most racially and economically diverse public schools in the history of New Orleans.

Our Mission

Morris Jeff Community School offers an education that is a source of freedom and possibility for all students, permitting them to develop their talents fully, become contributing global citizens, and attain the foundation needed to excel at college, career, and beyond.

Morris Jeff Community School is committed to diversity in education and to providing a learning environment that is child-centered and fosters personal, creative and academic excellence. The International Baccalaureate Organization provides a developmentally appropriate curriculum framework for students around our globe. Our school is proud to be an authorized World School of the IBO.

Our Values

In preparing new generations of New Orleanians to impact their city, the country, and the world, the school espouses the following values:

OPEN-ACCESS

Holding this truth to be self-evident, that all children have the potential to learn at the highest levels and develop into lifelong learners.

DIVERSITY

Creating a school where the students, parents, and faculty reflect the racial and economic diversity of our city and our neighborhood.

RIGOR

Fostering practices that develop children’s capacity to master basic skills, think critically, engage creatively, and develop intellectual confidence.

PROFESSIONALISM

Attracting the highest quality educators, by respecting their capacity as professionals and creating an environment where teachers are supported to develop their full potential.

COMMUNITY

Engaging the talents, time, and imagination of parents and community members to be co-creators in the vision and the work of our educational community.

WORLD LANGUAGES

Exposing children to language diversity from a young age to develop their linguistic capacity and global awareness.

ADVOCACY

Believing that it is our job to organize ourselves to be a powerful voice for the success of public education