Ashoka
Bricolage Academy opened its doors in fall 2013 to 75 kindergarten students. The school was designed as a deliberate departure from a traditional school model and in response to an overwhelming desire on part of New Orleans parents and community members who sought a school that balanced diversity and creative freedom with academic rigor and accountability.
Over the span of two years prior to its opening, Bricolage’s founders organized discussion groups and ‘pop- up’ play dates in neighborhoods across New Orleans, as well as visited excellent, progressive elementary school models across the nation. During this time, they gathered input and ideas for a high quality school that prepared students for a future that would require comfort with peers of diverse backgrounds and fluency with creative problem solving and technology. Bricolage’s mission and vision were ultimately solidified, and in November 2012, its charter was unanimously approved by the Orleans Parish School Board.
Today, Bricolage is a thriving K-2 elementary school with the mission of advancing educational equity by preparing students of diverse backgrounds to be innovators who change the world. The school is also in great demand: there are five applications for each available school seat. Each year the school will add 100 students and one grade level, such that by 2021, the school will serve 675 students in grades K-8.