Delores Taylor Arthur was an educator who served students as a classroom teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana, Princeton, Ohio, and Metairie, Louisiana.  Balancing her most important job as mother, she treated teaching as a vocation.  A tough but loving disciplinarian, she demanded the very best from her students and even more from herself as their teacher.  She understood that each child had his or her own story and it gave her great delight to learn that story and all of its challenges.  In her mind, every child was worth each and every moment of sacrifice on her part.  Great teachers are willing to meet each student where they are and walk hand-in-hand with them to someplace beyond their potential.  She made that journey with many. 

 

This school bears her name not simply because she should be memorialized but because that passion for teaching and love for young people is needed now more than ever.  At a time when we have an opportunity to change the way that young men in New Orleans are educated by creating a school that has at its core love, rigor, and relationships, we have chosen to launch this school.  Imagine a school where each young man finds his voice and has the confidence to tell his story.  Imagine a time when all young men regardless of zip code have an opportunity to graduate high school and move on to college.  Perhaps you choose to imagine a place where young men develop the skills to excel in the workforce and where those young men with disabilities receive an education that is created to accentuate their gifts and not limit them because of their challenges.  For those of us who knew Delores Taylor Arthur, that place was easy to imagine.  As a result we are committed to making it a reality.

 

The Delores Taylor Arthur School for Young Men.