Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology

Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology is a mid-sized elementary-level community in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the schools within Orleans Parish. The school serves 659 students in grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 45% above the typical public school in Louisiana, which averages around 453 students.

Within Orleans Parish, which oversees 6 schools and 2,322 students, Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology reports that 97% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority; the rest looks like 2% Hispanic. By comparison, Orleans Parish as a whole is about 55% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 14.0:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Orleans Parish's rate of about 75%.

After controlling for student poverty, Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 13.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 22.7%.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Orleans Parish indicate the typical household earns roughly $56,631 per year, roughly 42% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Orleans Parish runs 82 public schools (combined enrollment of about 48,238 students), of which Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology is one.

The Delores Taylor Arthur School for Young Men is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology.

The campus sits in a high-density setting. Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology is a charter school, which puts it inside the public-school system but outside the standard district-managed model.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 7%: 709 students in 2018 compared to 659 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 21.1:1 in 2018 to 11.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.