The Lens

4 days ago | thelensnola.org | Marta Jewson

The number of Louisiana kindergarteners reading at or above grade level doubled during the 2024-25 school year, Louisiana Department of Education officials reported Thursday. That data comes from the state’s early literacy screener — a test to measure whether kindergarten through third/grade students are reading at grade level. “We’re extremely thrilled,” said Danny Bosch, the director of advocacy at The Center for Literacy and Learning.

1 week ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

Mississippi River ships and barges carry over 500 million tons of cargo through the Southwest Pass shipping channel at the river’s end to reach major ports that handle 18% of U.S. waterborne commerce. For almost 100 years, levees and other human-made flood control structures have lined the banks of the river, obstructing its land-building silt, sand and clay from naturally rebuilding land along coastal Louisiana.

3 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Carolyne Heldman

This week on Behind The Lens, the largest new delta in North America is forming through a naturally occurring sediment diversion on the Mississippi River. Scientists there say the land-building power of the channel can be seen right under their feet.

3 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Marta Jewson

A young New Orleans child is caught in the crossfire as the city’s school district and its largest charter operator argue over the kindergartener’s special-education services. While NOLA Public Schools officials allege that KIPP New Orleans Schools failed to educate the child last school year, the KIPP charter group contends it couldn’t educate the student at home without a doctor’s note. The family wanted the child to be educated within a home setting, but was unable to make that happen.

3 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

As politicians argue over just how much land the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion could build along a rapidly sinking coast, geologist Alex Kolker regularly makes the 65-mile drive down from New Orleans to document Neptune Pass, the largest new branch of the Mississippi River to form in nearly a century. As the fast-flowing river water carries sediment into the Neptune Pass channel, the water slows down just enough to drop silt, sand and clay in the bay.