Pat Cooper is president and CEO of the Mahalia Jackson Center, which will open this spring in Central City. Cooper served for more than 20 years as superintendent at the highly successful early childhood learning centers in St. Francisville and McComb, Mississippi, before bringing his expertise to New Orleans.
The first five years of life are the most crucialyears determining success through high school and beyond, but 90 percent of Central City’s children are entering kindergarten at a three-year-old developmental level. The Mahalia Jackson Center, opening this spring, aims to reverse that trend. “This will be a one-stop shop for children and families, with services from pre-natal through kindergarten all in one place,” says Pat Cooper, president and CEO.
The school will teach young children and provide outreach to other neighborhood child-care centers. Adult education will include technology training, GED preparation, parenting, nutrition, and more. Families can access a health clinic, public library, fitness center, arts and culture and music practice rooms, and social services. With referrals provided for any services not offered on-site, no one will be turned away.
Movies will be screened at the theater in the meeting room, which looks out on the courtyard, community garden, playground, and citrus grove. Trees, benches, hanging plants, and a fountain will make the Center a place to relax, socialize, and have fun. Cooper has worked as superintendent in St. Francisville and McComb, where the one-stop shop
model has brought higher test scores, a near 100 percent graduation rate, and a 70 percent reduction in juvenile violent crime. The Mahalia Jackson Center will serve Central City, with six other centers planned in additional New Orleans neighborhoods over the next 10 years.
The Mahalia Jackson Center received a Community IMPACT grant from the Greater New Orleans Foundat ion. The Center is a project of the Central City Funders Collaborative, of which GNOF is a member.
