6X LHSSA State Football Championships (1993,2012,2016,2017,2018,2019)
8x LHSSA State Track and Field State Championships(Boys & Girls) 1996,2003,2013, 2015,2016,2017,2018,2019)
The school began operation in 1964 as a junior high school.[2] It was named after Edna Karr, an educator who served as a teacher and administrator in the Algiers community. About 18 months after the (mid-school-year) 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.
Until 1990, Edna Karr operated as a junior high serving grades 7 through 9, with an academic program that included regular education, special education, and gifted education.[2] In May 1990, the Orleans Parish School Board voted to change Edna Karr into a junior/senior high magnet school.[2] 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. Starting with the 1991 school year, grades ten, eleven and twelve would be added over the next three years and the school graduated its first senior class in May 1993.[2]
Edna Karr will complete a brand new campus by October 2019. The project is estimated to cost $48.9 million.[4]
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.[5]
In 2015, Edna Karr ranked 2nd best in the New Orleans Parish School District and above 83.1% of high schools in Louisiana in academic performance.[5]
Edna Karr's marching band is known as "#TeamBustEmUp" and includes 100+ instrumentalists, dancers (Cougar Dolls), a flag corp, and twirlers. Some notable accomplishments of the band include being highlighted in a documentary on New Orleans, photographed for 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 Lemonade visual album. They have also appeared in a 2018 T-Mobile commercial and 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.[7]
