Transforming Education in Baton Rouge

Transforming Education in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Our Story

New Schools for Baton Rouge (NSBR) was founded in 2012 by community leaders to transform education in our community.

Our mission is to ensure that every child in Baton Rouge has access to an excellent education. The future of that education is choice.

Our core belief is that every child deserves a great school - especially those children that have been historically denied access to a high-quality education. We know that great schools empower educators with the resources they need to meet the individual needs and learning styles of each child, regardless of their background. NSBR strives to break down the obstacles fostered by a broken system, enabling all children to receive an education that unlocks their unique genius and prepares them for the lives of opportunity they deserve.

Meet Our CEO

Kenneth Campbell became NSBR’s CEO in 2022, bringing decades of experience creating exceptional education opportunities for students in the South. He believes that together schools, students and their families should have the autonomy to make decisions about education. Putting the children first instead of an "all or none" approach to education could be the solution to the education barriers and inequalities we see in Baton Rouge.

Through NSBR, he and his team are working to put students front and center and give schools the autonomy to make decisions based solely on the individual needs of their students.

Watch Now
Watch

Listen in as Ken discusses his dream for the future of education.

Meet the Team Catalyzing Change

Our dedicated team puts the needs of our community first.

Meet the Team

Timeline

See How Far We’ve Come

2012
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2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2019
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2012

The Impact Begins

New Schools for Baton Rouge is founded by a diverse array of community leaders concerned about persistent education failure across the Capital Region. NSBR launches its first fundraising Excellence Fund, driven by the founding committee’s dream to provide families with more school choice and to provide schools with more independence and accountability.

2013

Baton Rouge Achievement Zone Launches

Community education champions come together to create a system of autonomous public charter schools to provide families with more robust education options. The zone focuses on school transformation in North Baton Rouge.

2013

Dell Commits 3 Years of Funding

The Dell Foundation becomes our first national funder, promising a 3-year commitment to NSBR.

2013

Community Compact is Established

Community Compact works to ensure the NSBR portfolio schools stay responsive to community needs such as health screenings, nutrition, and before and after school care.

2014

Four Schools Launch

Celerity, now known as Redesign Schools Louisiana, launches NSBR’s first three partner schools, shortly joined by Baton Rouge University Prep. Partner schools include Lanier Elementary, Dalton Elementary, and Glen Oaks Middle School.

2014

First Talent Grant Secured

NSBR makes its first talent grant, creating a partnership with Teach For America South Louisiana, to ensure Baton Rouge’s education system has a sustainable pipeline of high-quality educators entering the workforce.

2015

Supporting the Future of Students

NSBR launches the Excellence Scholarship Fund, also known as the Student Tuition Organization (STO), designed to enable students living in poverty to attend a school of their choice.

2015

GEO and Democracy Prep Launch

Democracy Prep opens its doors. GEO Academies launches its first campus in Baton Rouge, providing individualized instruction to each of its students.

2016

Big Year for School Facilities in Baton Rouge

New Schools Baton Rouge launches its facilities organization, NSBR-F, to support construction and renovations for Baton Rouge charter schools.

2016

NSBR Leaders Train at Relay Graduate School

A partnership with Relay Graduate School of Education is established and the first cohort of NSBR leaders complete Relay’s NPAF training.

2017

Collegiate Baton Rouge Launches

Collegiate Baton Rouge ranks #1 in growth among all open enrollment high schools in Baton Rouge for multiple years running.

2017

GEO Academies Launches Second Campus

Building on the success of its first campus, GEO expands to a new neighborhood by opening a campus in Mid-City.

2018

Busy Year for School Launches

“IDEA Public Schools opens two Baton Rouge-campuses at IDEA Innovation and IDEA Bridge. BASIS launches its first Baton Rouge campus near Women’s Hospital, bringing an internationally-competitive education to Baton Rouge students. The Emerge School for Autism also welcomed students next door to IDEA.

2018

Learning from Others

NSBR participates in the Community Organizing Training Program in San Francisco, in addition to visiting nationally recognized portfolio cities to learn community engagement best practices.

2018

NSBR-F Supports New Schools

Construction at IDEA Innovation, IDEA Bridge, Collegiate Academy, and BASIS Materra is completed, enabling them to open their doors to students in the fall.

2018

Talent Expands

After statewide teacher turnover reaches an alarming 65%, NSBR launches the Heads of Talent Collaborative to teach best practices in teacher retention and acquisition. NSBR also partners with The New Teacher Project and the Walton Foundation to create a City Wide Landscape Analysis for Talent.

2019

A Year of Community Investment

2019 was a busy year featuring the launches of the ChangeMakers leadership program, Community Building Grants, Philanthropy Roundtable, and the Family Engagement Collaborative.

2019

GEO Academies Launches its High School

GEO Next Generation High School opens, enabling students to earn free college credits while still in high school.

2019

City Fund Invests in NSBR

City Fund commits to NSBR’s second major investment, the largest to date.

2020

A Pandemic-Sized Shift in Education

COVID-19 Pandemic dramatically shifts education overnight, leading NSBR to launch its first virtual talent recruitment and school fairs while establishing a COVID-19 relief fund to help schools transition to virtual learning.

2020

CSAL Elementary Launches Despite Pandemic

NSBR supports the launch of CSAL Elementary in partnership with CSAL Middle School and Madison Preparatory Academy.

2020

NSBR Joins Forces with EnrollBR

NSBR assumes the management of EnrollBR, a common application process, pairing children with a great education at a school that is their perfect fit.

2020

Facilities Continue to See Progress

NSBR-F renovates the Capitol High lobby, sparking community investment in the historic school site.

2020

Investing in Talent

The Principal’s Community of Practice and the Developing Leaders Community of Practice both launch.

2021

A Record-Setting Year for EnrollBR

EnrollBR receives over 2,700 applications to high-quality charter schools through its common application process.

2021

Connecting School and Family

NSBR’s family engagement strategy expands to a year-long robust program called Family, Schools, and Community Connect, designed to support portfolio schools in becoming community-centered, helping them involve families and the communities in the school's mission and their child's education.

2021

Facility Growth in 2021

BASIS Mid-City, Helix Aviation, Helix Legal, IDEA Bridge, and IDEA University Prep open in 2021. NSBR-F also begins supporting schools outside of Baton Rouge, adding other cities to its portfolio.

2021

Teach225 Launches

NSBR’s Teach225 project launches as an online resource devoted exclusively to celebrating, elevating, and developing educators.

2022

Celebrating & Supporting Teachers

Teach225 hosted a virtual career fair and launched a Teacher Appreciation campaign across the Greater Baton Rouge area. Over 300 educators attended the Teacher Appreciation events.

2022

Facility Growth in 2022

Third Future Schools, Ochsner Discovery, and Great Hearts all begin operations in 2022.

2022

EnrollBR Breaks Another Organizational Record

EnrollBR collected over 3,000 apps from Baton Rouge families, helping to pair them with their perfect schools. We also expanded school choice for families by adding GEO Baker to the application platform.

2022

Supporting Students Reaches a New Level

Education Rising launches at Next Generation High School, and the students attend the National Conference in Washington, D.C.

2023

Together Again

Teach225 hosts the first post-COVID in-person career fair, featuring schools from all sectors – private, public, and charter.

2023

Meeting Parents Where They Are

Baton Rouge content influencer, LaTangela Fay, becomes an EnrollBR champion, further promoting school choice messaging.

2023

Increasing Education Reach & Parent Support

New Schools is awarded three multi-year grants in the amount of $60,000 to three community organizations focused on building literacy skills, social emotional learning, chronic absenteeism prevention and parent education.

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