OUR MISSION
Our mission at the Travis Hill Schools is to create a transformative learning environment where students held in secure settings develop the academic and socio-emotional skills they need to become positive, contributing members of their community when they are released.
OUR HISTORY. OUR SCHOOLS.
In the spring of 2016, CEEAS/BreakFree Education applied to open a new school inside of the New Orleans juvenile detention center (then called the Youth Study Center). We opened our doors at the detention center just months later, in August of 2016. As a team, our school staff elected to name the school the Travis Hill School.
One year later CEEAS/BreakFree Education applied to open a second campus, this time inside of the Orleans Justice Center.
Now Travis Hill NOLA Schools, we are excited to continue serving students at both of these facilities and to continue working on improving the quality of our schools while meeting the needs of our students.
OUR NAMESAKE
Travis Hill, known as “Trumpet Black,” was a
New Orleans jazz musician from a long line of renowned artists. After time in juvenile detention and prison, he returned to his roots, using music to mentor teens and promote nonviolence. He popularized the phrase “Trumpets Not Guns” with a 2015 song. Hill died tragically at 28, but his legacy lives on through his family’s continued involvement in the schools that bear his name.
OUR DESIGN ELEMENTS
The Travis Hill Schools are student-centered, focusing on relevance, high achievement, and a climate of respect. We collaborate with custodial care staff at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center and Orleans Justice Center, engage families as active participants, and partner with the broader New Orleans community to build lasting relationships that support students upon their return home.