High School began operation in 1964 as a junior high school It was named after Edna Karr, an educator who served as a teacher and administrator in the Algiers community. About 18 months after the opening of the new junior high, Hurricane Betsy struck as the 1965-66 school year was starting. Local schools were closed for several days, in part because local electric power had not been restored. In addition, Karr's beautiful gym floor was ruined; blowing rain had pounded in through broken windows, and the inundated wood flooring buckled like an accordion. When school restarted, physical education classes were held outdoors until the floor had been replaced. Olaf Fink, who served as a state senator for Algiers from 1956 to 1972, retired in May 1972 from a 33-year teaching career, with his final assignment at Karr Junior High School. Until 1990, Edna Karr operated as a typical junior high serving grades 7 through 9, with an academic program that included regular education, special education, and gifted education. In 1990 the Orleans Parish School Board voted to change Edna Karr into a junior/senior high magnet school. This was at the behest of community activists. As a result, significant changes took place: upper grade levels, new courses, and high school traditions were added. In addition, policies and procedures were written for magnet school clientele. In the years since 1990, Karr completed its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 10-Year Update in 1998. In 2000 and again in 2005, Edna Karr earned the National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Recognition. All of this changed in the autumn of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. With the creation of the Algiers Charter Schools Association, Edna Karr was one of the first six public schools to reopen in the city of New Orleans. Edna Karr reopened as a senior high charter school serving grades 9 through 12. Under the ACSA charter, Edna Karr once again has open enrollment and is therefore open to all students who live in Orleans Parish.
New Facilities
Edna Karr will complete a brand new campus by October 2019. The project is estimated to cost $48.9 million.
Student demographics
As of the 2015-16 school year, approximately 95% of the student population is African-American, and approximately 83% of the students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. Most of the students will be first-generation college students in their families.
Edna Karr's marching band is known as “#TeamBustEmUp" includes 100+ instrumentalists, dancers, a flag corp, and twirlers. Some notable accomplishments of the band includes being highlighted in a documentary on New Orleans, photographed for the ESPN's 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina issue, invited to perform in London, England for the city's 2016 New Years Day Parade, and a cameo appearance in Beyoncé's Lemonadevisual album. They have also appeared in a 2018 T-Mobile commercial. The band also has made an appearance in the 2018 film, “Assassination Nation”. It is one of the premier bands of New Orleans, often called upon to compete nationwide. The Marching Cougars' motto is "Second to None".
