Jason: NO Outreach Winter Showcase Showdown

New Orleans Outreach has been an integral part of FirstLine Schools for years. As the primary driver of our afterschool enrichment programs, Outreach has brought dance, sports, art, Karate, and some of the students’ favorite extracurriculars to our campuses.

This year, Outreach held an annual Winter Showcase at S.J. Green Charter and at Langston Hughes Academy.  Green held theirs first on December 14, setting the stage with paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling and Christmas lights strung about. Between all the dance demonstrations, it would be hard to say which was the favorite. However, the marching band was definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Other highlights at Green included the Karate club (watching the students play ‘Sensei Says’ was especially entertaining), a very relaxing yoga session on stage, and the baseball team’s warm-up demo. Meanwhile, the packed room enjoyed a variety of treats provided by The Edible Schooyard, including fresh tea and banana bread.

LHA Dance Performance

Langston Hughes Academy followed with an equally impressive show the next week. While their Hip-Hop Dance team’s version of “No Scrubs” was a favorite, Outreach at LHA also included some skits in their showcase. There were lessons on friendship and school life in theatrical format. At the finale, the LHA Marching Eagles wowed the audience with a full band, dance team, and baton twirlers.

After LHA’s Winter Showcase, they offered food and a book sale at their Family Food Night in the cafeteria. The two showcases highlight not only the wonderful programs our students at FirstLine are engaged in, but just how vital New Orleans Outreach has been to enriching the lives of our scholars.

Jason Lacoste is the AmeriCorps VISTA K-8 Outreach Coordinator for FirstLine Schools.

Kathleen: Wes Moore, Xavier & Clark Prep

On the evening of Tuesday, November 27 Clark Prep sent a total of five 9^th and 10^th grade students to Xavier University.  Xavier was hosting a special event: Wes Moore, celebrated author of “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates” spoke to the entire freshman class of Xavier, as they are required to read it as first-years and it is incorporated into their studies, and the Xavier chapter of the Alpha-Phi-Alpha fraternity as their selected shared reading for the 2012/2013 academic year. 

The trip was exciting for students and adults as well, as the book tells a story about two African American men with the same name who came from similar backgrounds in urban Baltimore but ultimately make defining and vastly different life choices, propelling one Moore into academic and professional success and plummeting the other into crime and a life sentence in jail. Clark Prep faculty members Ms. Vernessa Gipson, Mr. Will Chesson, Mrs. Dawn Goodwin and Principal Hochron accompanied the students.  

Clark Prep was also represented by Dr. Monique Cola, alumni and President of the Clark Alumni Association.  All enjoyed discussion of the themes covered in Wes Moore’s book, those themes described by Xavier as part of their mission, being “personal responsibility, social justice, the transformative power of education” and the judicial system in the U.S. All five Clark Prep students can be seen in the bottom row of the picture  – Clark Prep sweaters and the JROTC uniform help to distinguish them from the rest!



Kathleen Duffy is the AmeriCorps VISTA Outreach Coordinator for Clark Prep High School.