The OPEN Public Education Awards are the manifestation of a vision to honor the full legacy of public education — to celebrate its rich tradition and accomplished products who continue to make contributions to New Orleans.

Educators are the stalwarts of a community: they are the profession through which all other professions are made possible. The OPEAs provide a space where their unique successes and stories can be shared and celebrated.

The awards celebrate the fulfillment of displaying “what works and why,” with the honorees themselves being selected based on the Correlates of Effective Schools research. Each school’s qualifications and results are painstakingly analyzed, with the end goal of holding up the most effective changemakers working day in and day out in service of the children of New Orleans.

OPEN is humbled to be able to salute the accomplishments of the OPEA honorees and honorable mentions. Each individual and entity works with an unwavering belief in this community and its students. Sometimes, they do their work in spite of the circumstances or prediction – and make it look easy while doing so. Their example calls all of us to a higher standard, to a collective commitment to create a public education system of which our children and our community can be proud.