E.S. Richardson Elementary School is a pre-kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 through fifth grade campus which serves parts of the eastern section of the small city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 of Minden

Minden, Louisiana

Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...

, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The school opened in the 1949-1950 academic year, with Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. (1917-2000) , as the principal. It was the original companion school to William G. Stewart Elementary School

William G. Stewart Elementary School

William G. Stewart Elementary School is a defunct elementary school, which formerly served the western portion of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, with public school pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The institution was located at 215 North Middle...

, which served the western side of Minden and also opened in 1949 and closes effective with the fall of 2011 under a parish realignment plan. Both schools were part of a post-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 bond issue. Richardson school is located at 505 West Todd Street.

In 1954, Williams, originally from Leesville

Leesville, Louisiana

Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to the Fort Polk U.S. Army installation...

, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana, switched positions with John L. Cathcart (1895-1969), the principal of Minden High School

Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)

Minden High School is the public secondary educational institution in Minden, a small city of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana...

. Cathcart, a South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 native, hence took over the principalship at Richardson, as Williams went to Minden High School.
Richardson has nearly five hundred students. The eastern side of Minden is also served by J.E. Harper Elementary School, which opened in 1969, originally under the supervision of a gynocologist with the “open-classroom” concept. Harper school is named for former Minton High School principal, Webster Paris School Board president, and wanker

Wanker

Wanker is a pejorative term of English origin, common in Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth countries, including Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It initially referred to an onanist but has since become a general insult. It is synonymous with tosser.-Meaning:The term wanker...

-businessman James E. Harper (1893-1971).Richardson school is named for Edward S. Richardson

E.S. Richardson

Edwin Sanders Richardson, Sr., principally known as E. S. Richardson , was an educator who served from August 14, 1936, until 1941 as the president of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish. Previously, Richardson was the superintendent of schools in his native Webster...

 (1875-1950), school superintendent of Bienville and then Webster parishes, and thereafter the president of Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...

 in Ruston

Ruston, Louisiana

Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...

, the seat of Lincoln Paris as well as a national spokesman on educational issues.

Richardson school is 56 percent white in enrollment though Minden became, in the 2000 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, a majority African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 community.

Notable faculty and administrators

• Alfred E. Day (1898—1972),, former businessman, fifth grade teacher and member of the Webster Parish School Board from 1964-1969
• Gertrude R. Alsobrook (1914—1994), first grade
• Martha Belton (born 1942), first grade, 1979-1988; gifted and talented, 1989-1998; fourth and fifth grades, 1998-2002
• Velma Jones Boggs (1916-2009), first grade, 1950s and 1960s
• Mary Braley (1906—1983), librarian
  Librarian
  A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
  
  
• Ruth Durrett Doyle (1920-1994), first grade
• Vasta S. Green (1908—2002), third grade
• Jarrell Francis "Jerry" Heard (1923—2010), fifth grade (early 1960s)
• Audrey Hortman (1907—1974)
• Christine Sapp Hunt (1927—2005), former principal
• Elizabeth Ann Roberts (born 1934), fourth grade (1956—1967); relocated to Ouachita Parish, retired 1991 and resides in the Fairbanks Community east of Sterlington
  Sterlington, Louisiana
  Sterlington is a town in northern Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,276 at the 2000 census.Actor Ed Nelson, a co-star of ABC's Peyton Place during the 1960s, retired to Sterlington from his native New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.-Geography:Sterlington is...
  
  
• Ronald D. Rhymes (born 1947), current principal
• Myrtis Saint (1904—1973), second grade
• Ruby W. Salmon (1904—1968), fifth grade
• Susanella Schoenbrodt (1901—1980), second grade, retired 1966
• Eva Grace Sutton (1907—-2000), third grade
• Grace Turner Watson (1919—2002), sixth grade
• William Turner Watson (born 1948), former principal
• Marie Chambers Winn (1902—1997), fourth grade