It’s Back to School for the Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools (ECCS)!
 

If you’re looking for a principal, teacher or administrator to interview for a back-to-school story, or would like to go to a campus for 1st day of school, the Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools (ECCS) invites you to come visit!  We’re proud of our schools and excited to get back to work.  Please call us first to let us know you’re coming.

Today, the New Orleans Coroner’s office announced that chief investigator John Gagliano has retired. "We are grateful for John's 44 years of service to the Coroner’s office and to our community," said Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Rouse. "Through all of the challenges this office has faced, including the historic effort to identify and care for those deceased during Hurricane Katrina, John has devoted himself to serving our City.  His work ethic is legendary and his presence will be missed by all of us at the Coroner’s office.  As we seek to modernize and transform our office, I am grateful for John's assistance during the transition."

Louisiana Connections Academy, a free public virtual charter school open to students from every parish of the state, has openings for additional students in grades K-12, said Principal Shuanessy Matthews.      

“We are excited about these openings, but it is also late in the enrollment game. Most of the openings are in grades 6-12. Therefore, if your middle or high school student is not happy with their school assignment or if virtual schooling would help your student excel in the 2014-2015 school year, contact us now,” said Principal Matthews.      

Information sessions are scheduled throughout the state and online. To find the session nearest you or most convenient for your schedule, go to www.ConnectionsAcademy.com/LACAevents or call the school at 225-372-8389 than 1200 students were enrolled in the free public school last academic year.

The Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office invites property owners to review their valuations for the 2015 tax year once they have received their property assessment letters in the mail.

From July 15 to August 15, property owners from across Orleans Parish may meet with a representative of the Assessor’s Office at any of three locations: ·       the 4th Floor of City Hall, 1300 Perdido St.;
·       the Algiers Courthouse, 225 Morgan St.;
or
·       the Lakeview Christian Center, 5885 Fleur De Lis Dr. 2nd Floor. 

Louisiana Connections Academy, a statewide provider of high-quality, highly accountable virtual K-12 schooling,  still has enrollment opened for the 2014-2015 school year and will be conducting in person information sessions with parents and students across the state throughout the month.

“The good news is that we expect to have additional student seats, scattered across all grades, which will be open for the coming academic year,” said Board President Wade Henderson. “Since we already have a waiting list, we encourage parents to get their applications in now.”

Enrollment topped 1,200 students at Louisiana Connections Academy for the 2013-2014 year and is expected to expand by another 600 K-12 students for the coming academic year. Parents can enroll their child online at:

http://www.connectionsacademy.com/louisiana-school/enrollment/home.aspx

Louisiana Connections Academy will host a free parent information session to answer parent and student requests for information about the virtual school program at the below date.

METAIRIE
ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND INFORMATION SESSION
Monday, July 21 6:30pm-8:00pm CDT
Best Western Plus Landmark Hotel
2601 Severn Ave. Metairie, LA 70002

A delegation of New Orleans schools including Audubon Charter, Lafayette Charter, Lusher Charter, Warren Easton Charter, and OPSB traditional schools visited China in early June.  The group represented the 1st delegation of the Xavier University of Louisiana/Confucius Institute Educational Delegation to China, where they visited Chinese K-12 educational settings to learn more about the Chinese education system. 

The doctor was Mary Sherman, MD, an expert in cancer and radiation who taught at Tulane Medical School and worked at Ochsner Clinic.  She was found murdered in her Uptown apartment on Jul. 21, 1964.  Officially, her murder remains unsolved, and the crime scene photos have never been released until now.           

Mary Sherman’s death is the subject of the best-selling book Dr. Mary’s Monkey, which some have called “the most whispered about book in New Orleans.”  The book’s author, Ed Haslam, maintains that Dr. Sherman was severely electrocuted at another facility in Uptown New Orleans and her badly burned body was secretly brought back to her apartment where a murder scene was faked.  The subtitle of the book gives the reader a glimpse of the sprawling story that unfolds inside: How the unsolved murder of a doctor, a secret laboratory in New Orleans, and cancer-causing monkey viruses are linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the JFK assassination and emerging global epidemics. 

The book has become an underground classic in the Crescent City and across the country.  Information about the book, hours of related videos, and the newly released crime scene photos can be found at the author’s website: DoctorMarysMonkey.com.  The updated 2014 hard cover edition is being released on July 21, 2014.    

JAZZ FUNERAL MUSIC FOR DR. MARY SHERMAN: A proper tribute at last.            
When: Monday, July 21, 2014, 10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.            
Where: 3101 St. Charles Ave., NOLA.   FREE and open to the public.            
The murder of Dr. Mary Sherman was discovered 50 years ago on the morning of July 21 inside her apartment at 3101 St. Charles Ave., then known as The Patio Apartments.  Jazz funeral music to honor her will be performed outside, in front of her former residence, on the sidewalk.  Haslam says, “Mary Sherman was a beautiful, educated, and successful woman, beloved and respected by those who knew her.  It is time we gave her a better send-off than the vicious rumors that swarmed around her death in 1964.  Here in New Orleans, the dignified way to show respect is with a jazz funeral.  This is only a ‘faux funeral,’ but the jazz and the respect are real.”  The musicians will be lead by trumpet player Clive Wilson, a 40 veteran of traditional New Orleans jazz bands.  

What: Sci High is hosting its annual Summer Internship Showcase. This event is the culmination of the Summer Internship Program and the celebration of the accomplishments of the 36 Sci High Interns that held internship placements around the city.  

When: Thursday, July 24 4:00pm  

Where: Sci High School 5625 Loyola Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro invites the public to register for the fourth annual Citizens Academy, a series of eight classes starting in September which explain how the criminal justice system works.  

The first of the weekly sessions will be taught by DA Cannizzaro and is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Classes will be held at the DA's offices, 619 South White St. in downtown New Orleans.  

The series of eight classes includes in-depth presentations by the senior staff of the DA's office, as well as a final session with New Orleans Police Department Chief Ronal Serpas. Light refreshments are provided by Crimestoppers.

A new annual college scholarship program, developed by the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation and the Jack Fielkow Scholarship Fund, has been established to benefit participants of the New Orleans MLB Urban Youth Academy and the “Each One Save One” mentoring organization. The annual scholarships will be worth up to $4,000 for two selected participants who demonstrate academic achievement, community participation, leadership skills and financial need. Scholarship recipients must attend an accredited two- or four-year college, university, vocational school or technical school.       

Recipients of the scholarship will be selected by a committee of individuals involved in the establishment of the program. This includes Arnie Fielkow, the former New Orleans City Council President and current CEO of the NBA Retired Players Association, who made a $40,000 donation in his father’s name via the Jack Fielkow Scholarship Fund. Louisiana-based First NBC Bank matched Fielkow’s donation to the scholarship program. Arnie Fielkow was instrumental in the establishment of the New Orleans MLB Urban Youth Academy.