BE NOLA Receives $300,000 Racial Equity Grant
NEW ORLEANS - Black Education For New Orleans (BE NOLA) received a $300,000 grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) because of its transformative work in the New Orleans education landscape. The grant is part of CZI’s commitment to support organizations leading the way to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion.
Since 2017, BE NOLA has been building an unapologetic educational community in which Black children, Black educators, and Black schools are prioritized and thriving. BE NOLA’s vision is for every Black student in New Orleans to receive a high-quality education in a loving environment where they can realize their full potential.
“BE NOLA is honored to be a grant recipient of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” said Adrinda Kelly, Executive Director of BE NOLA. “This grant will further advance our vision of providing every Black student in New Orleans with a real opportunity to receive an equitable, high-quality, culturally-affirming education.”
Extensive research has demonstrated the myriad of benefits to Black children when quality educators who share their racial identity drive their learning. Of the 900 teachers who leave their roles each year in the city of New Orleans, 46% of them are Black.
In addition to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, Black educators in New Orleans experience unique challenges and hardships due to systemic racism within the school system, and Black-governed, Black-led schools experience racial bias in accessing financial resources and other supports that would help them maximize their positive impact on Black students.
For more information about BE NOLA, please visit Blackedunola.org.
BE NOLA Executive Director Adrinda Kelly Named One of New Orleans CityBusiness 2021 Women of the Year and Biz New Orleans 500
NEW ORLEANS - Black Education for New Orleans’ (BE NOLA) Executive Director, Adrinda Kelly, was selected by New Orleans CityBusiness as one of 50 “2021 Women of the Year.” BE NOLA was recognized for its outstanding contributions to the New Orleans education landscape. Kelly was also profiled in Biz New Orleans’ new, annual publication New Orleans 500 for supporting Black educators and Black-led schools in the city.
“I am so honored and humbled to be recognized amongst so many of our city’s great business leaders,” said Adrinda Kelly, Executive Director of BE NOLA. “My hope is to bring more awareness to BE NOLA’s mission, and I deeply appreciate New Orleans CityBusiness and Biz New Orleans for elevating our work. I look forward to continuing to uplift and advance Black educators and students in the city in 2022 and beyond.”
With 20 years of experience in education, Adrinda has focused on launching and developing initiatives that support underrepresented students throughout her career. She is passionate about supporting the agency and voice of marginalized communities.
In her current role as Executive Director of BE NOLA (Black Education for New Orleans) she oversees daily operations of the organization, whose mission is to support Black educators and Black-governed, Black-led schools to provide a quality education to local children. Under her leadership, BE NOLA has delivered high-impact programs to more than 1,000 Black educators, quadrupled its base of actively engaged supporters, and launched several new funding strategies, successfully raising more than $2 million for the organization’s growing programs.
As a proud McDonogh #35 graduate, Kelly credits her way of seeing and moving in the world to the rich epistemology of New Orleans Black educators. It is her personal experience benefiting from Quality Black Educators (QBE)s and Black-Governed, Black-Led Schools (BGBLS) in the city that defines her deep, personal connection to BE NOLA’s mission.
Kelly received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her masters from New York University. As she champions BE NOLA’s vision, she is humbled to receive recognition as one of New Orleans’ leading Black business women.
To learn more about Adrinda Kelly and BE NOLA, check out her features in CityBusiness and Biz New Orleans.
'Black Brilliance' campaign launches to highlight Black-led charter schools in New Orleans
To coincide with Black History Month, the local nonprofit Black Education New Orleans has launched a new campaign aimed at promoting Black-led charter schools and African American culture within them, and at highlighting injustices and racial inequity in the New Orleans public school system.
The "Black Brilliance" campaign kicked off this month with the unveiling of a billboard by Jacq Francois, a New Orleans artist known for fusing a pop art style with Black culture and Afrofuturism, which blends African diaspora with technology.
BE NOLA’s ‘Black Brilliance’ campaign in support of educators and students
NEW ORLEANS— There is a great need for black teachers in New Orleans. Research has shown that students students benefit more from teachers who share their racial identity.
The non-profit Black Education for New Orleans(BE NOLA) recently released a report to examine challenges that black educators face. BE NOLA also a course of resources for these educators.
BE NOLA Announces Launch of Black Brilliance Campaign
NEW ORLEANS – Black Education For New Orleans (BE NOLA) announced the Black Brilliance Campaign launch, which kicks off Black History Month and coincides with a billboard unveiling by acclaimed New Orleans artist Jacq Francois.
In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Black Educators Are Shaping Their Narrative
As the Crescent City charts its educational course 15 years after Hurricane Katrina, one group is striving to ensure that support for Black educators takes center stage.
New Orleans students hindered by centuries of racial, socioeconomic inequity
A recent, comprehensive, city-wide survey of educators, staffers, advocates and families reveals the multitude of challenges facing New Orleans’ public schools, including a heavy emphasis on improving the mental and behavioral health and socialization skills of students of all ages.
Adrinda Kelly on WBOK
8 Organizations Powering Positive Change in New Orleans
New Orleans has long been known for its rich and creative music scene, Creole cuisine, and French architecture and culture. As a port city at the southern tip of the Mississippi River, it became a vital transportation route and ultimately one of the most unique cross-cultural and multilingual destinations in the United States.
Black Education in New Orleans - Where Do We Go From Here On WBOK
Racial Inequities in Higher Education
Adrinda Kelly Executive Director of Black Education for New Orleans talks about the many factors that are barring African American students from higher education and their chances at a better life.
When Getting to School Is a Challenge
Educational progress has been made in New Orleans, but far too many children are still struggling to access high-quality schools. Our current approach to school transportation places an undue burden on students, parents, and schools to absorb the effects of lengthy, circuitous, and expensive commutes.
