Alvarez & Marsal

Successfully navigating the challenges associated with establishing charter schools is a major undertaking that can require months to years of planning.  The circumstances surrounding the creation of the Algiers Charter Schools Association (ACSA), however, and the six-week time frame in which it was established and opened to students in post-Katrina New Orleans, were anything but normal.

After the Orleans Parish School Board voted to charter 13 schools on the west bank of the Mississippi River, ACSA entered into a contract with Alvarez & Marsal to provide operational, financial, human resource, IT and ancillary/facilities services staff to establish the new school system as soon as possible.  Going above and beyond the traditional consultant roles for which they were hired before the storm, the Alvarez & Marsal team immediately began to assemble the new school system from the ground up.

On December 15, 2005, five Algiers Charter Schools welcomed almost 1,500 students back to class, with over 2,100 registered to return after the holidays.  Currently, ACSA operates eight schools serving over 4,500 students – with further expansion plans already in progress.