Newellton High School
Encyclopedia
Newellton High School was a rural
public high school
in Newellton
in northern Tensas Parish
in northeastern Louisiana
, along the Mississippi River
. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006. Located at 400 Verona Street adjacent to Depot Street, the NHS campus is now the site of Newellton Elementary School, which houses pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
During the 1960s, Newellton High School won two district football championships and was the runner-up at the state competition in its division. Later Mayor Edwin G. Preis
(1916-2011) and another businessman, Orrice R. Barnes (1921-1996), were the announcers for the home football games.
In August 1970, NHS was desegregated by federal court order. By the 1970s and 1980s, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten were added.
voted by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High School open for at least one additional year. However, parish Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that Newellton grades 9-12 be reassigned to St. Joseph
, the parish seat, where they would attend Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which served grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment. Grades 7-8 attend Tensas High School except for the pupils in those grades in Newellton, who remain with the elementary campus there. The former Davidson High School was named for Joseph Moore Davidson (born 1894), who died in battle shortly before the armistice was signed in 1918 ending World War I
.
Ultimately, financial considerations compelled the consolidation of Newellton and Davidson schools into the rearranged Tensas High School
at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph, located across the highway from the St. Joseph Baptist Church and near the central office of the school board. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, when fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Sheriff Rickey Jones.
Just prior to its closure, Newellton High School lost a popular English
teacher in the spring of 2006, when William Randolph "Randy" Achey (born 1952), a native of Virginia and former Alabama
resident, died of heart failure. His memorial service was held in the school gymnasium. At that time, two science teachers announced their retirements. Superintendent Carol Johnson said that the closing of Newellton High School would improve educational quality so that Tensas Parish, the smallest in the state in population, might concentrate its efforts on one high school.
Newellton High School had a relatively new facility and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition even though enrollment numbers could not sustain continuation. The athletic teams known as "The Bears" drew enthusiastic support from the community for many years. The football teams usually played rivals at Davidson High School or other schools in Tallulah
, Mangham
, or Delhi
. For years, Jack Poe of Newellton wrote the "Our Bears" column in the parish newspaper, the Tensas Gazette.
Citing low enrollments elsewhere, the school board had already closed Waterproof High School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, and Lisbon Elementary School, both in the economically depressed town of Waterproof
in the southern part of Tensas Parish.
The private school
, Tensas Academy, is located in St. Joseph not far from Tensas High School. The academy has drawn from the white population of Newellton as well as other areas of the majority-black parish. Tensas Academy appeared when public schools were desegregated. In May 2010, only three whites out of forty students graduated from Tensas High School. Ten whites graduated from Tensas Academy, and four whites from another private school, the Newellton Christian Academy at 1018 Verona Street.
In 2011, the remaining Newellton Elementary School, which is at least 85 percent African American, enrolls 219 of the approximately 760 public school pupils in Tensas Parish. Every child in the school is eligible for federal Title I assistance.
in Grant Parish
, served as the last NHS principal and prepared the school improvement plan for the 2004-2005 academic year submitted to the state department of education.
Alton Browning (1917-1979), vocational and agriculture teacher
Virginia Lee Crossno (born 1934), home economics
teacher; later on faculty and administration of Northwestern State University
in Natchitoches
Reverend Aubrey Denson Foster (1926-2003), former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newellton and science teacher at NHS, succeeded William Vosburg as principal in the middle 1970s.
Jerry Don Head (1938-1970), head football coach and civics teacher; later crop-duster killed in air crash
Genell Moore McDonald Owen (1914-1972), English teacher
Hardy "Buddy" Palmer (born 1936), football coach and mathematics teacher
Wallace Ewing Prather (1924-2002) served as the Newellton principal during the 1950s and 1960s.
George H. "Tinker" Prince (1924-1992), business teacher
Reverend Donald Lee Thornton, Sr. (born 1936), a native of Tunica
, Mississippi, graduate of Mississippi College
in Clinton
, former pastor of the Flowers Landing Baptist Church in Newellton, mathematics and chemistry teacher and coach at NHS from 1958-1978, resident of West Monroe
and pastor in Waverly in Madison Parish. Thornton's wife, the former Beatrice Walters, graduated from NHS in 1959, and their son, Donald, Jr. (born 1960), graduated in 1978.
William Edward "Bill" Vosburg (born October 13, 1940), a native of New Roads
, the seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, served as the NHS principal during the early years of racial transition. Vosburg later entered business in Ruston
, the seat of Lincoln Parish
in north Louisiana. The superintendent at the time, Charles Ed Thompson (1932–1993), a Tensas Parish native, later accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Education in Baton Rouge
under state Superintendent Louis J. Michot
.
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
public high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Newellton
Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
in northern Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
in northeastern 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...
, along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006. Located at 400 Verona Street adjacent to Depot Street, the NHS campus is now the site of Newellton Elementary School, which houses pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Background
Newellton High School was twice renovated. A second structure was completed in 1957 under Superintendent A. E. Swanson. Another major renovation followed during the 1970s, and parts of the preceding facility were torn down and rebuilt. During its existence, NHS first served grades one through eleven. In 1948, the twelfth grade was added throughout Louisiana.During the 1960s, Newellton High School won two district football championships and was the runner-up at the state competition in its division. Later Mayor Edwin G. Preis
Edwin G. Preis
Edwin Gustav Preis, Sr. , was a farmer and businessman who served from 1972 to 2000 as the Democratic mayor of the town of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana....
(1916-2011) and another businessman, Orrice R. Barnes (1921-1996), were the announcers for the home football games.
In August 1970, NHS was desegregated by federal court order. By the 1970s and 1980s, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten were added.
Reasons for closing
At the close of the 2005-2006 academic year, there were only seventy-four pupils in the high school grades. On May 18, 2006, the Tensas Parish School BoardTensas Parish School Board
The Tensas Parish School Board is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is headquartered in the town of St. Joseph....
voted by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High School open for at least one additional year. However, parish Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that Newellton grades 9-12 be reassigned to St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
, the parish seat, where they would attend Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which served grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment. Grades 7-8 attend Tensas High School except for the pupils in those grades in Newellton, who remain with the elementary campus there. The former Davidson High School was named for Joseph Moore Davidson (born 1894), who died in battle shortly before the armistice was signed in 1918 ending World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Ultimately, financial considerations compelled the consolidation of Newellton and Davidson schools into the rearranged Tensas High School
Tensas High School
Tensas High School is the public secondary school which services all of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Tensas High School, a term coined in 2006, was formerly known as Joseph Moore Davidson High School. It is located in the parish seat of St. Joseph. Pupils in grades 7-12 from throughout...
at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph, located across the highway from the St. Joseph Baptist Church and near the central office of the school board. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, when fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Sheriff Rickey Jones.
Just prior to its closure, Newellton High School lost a popular English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher in the spring of 2006, when William Randolph "Randy" Achey (born 1952), a native of Virginia and former Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
resident, died of heart failure. His memorial service was held in the school gymnasium. At that time, two science teachers announced their retirements. Superintendent Carol Johnson said that the closing of Newellton High School would improve educational quality so that Tensas Parish, the smallest in the state in population, might concentrate its efforts on one high school.
Newellton High School had a relatively new facility and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition even though enrollment numbers could not sustain continuation. The athletic teams known as "The Bears" drew enthusiastic support from the community for many years. The football teams usually played rivals at Davidson High School or other schools in Tallulah
Tallulah, Louisiana
Tallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
, Mangham
Mangham, Louisiana
Mangham is a village in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 595 at the 2000 census. Mangham was established in 1890. It is named for Wyley P...
, or Delhi
Delhi, Louisiana
Delhi, originally called Deerfield, is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,066.-History:...
. For years, Jack Poe of Newellton wrote the "Our Bears" column in the parish newspaper, the Tensas Gazette.
Citing low enrollments elsewhere, the school board had already closed Waterproof High School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, and Lisbon Elementary School, both in the economically depressed town of Waterproof
Waterproof, Louisiana
Waterproof is a town in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of 2000 census. Waterproof is approximately seventeen miles north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish...
in the southern part of Tensas Parish.
The private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, Tensas Academy, is located in St. Joseph not far from Tensas High School. The academy has drawn from the white population of Newellton as well as other areas of the majority-black parish. Tensas Academy appeared when public schools were desegregated. In May 2010, only three whites out of forty students graduated from Tensas High School. Ten whites graduated from Tensas Academy, and four whites from another private school, the Newellton Christian Academy at 1018 Verona Street.
In 2011, the remaining Newellton Elementary School, which is at least 85 percent African American, enrolls 219 of the approximately 760 public school pupils in Tensas Parish. Every child in the school is eligible for federal Title I assistance.
Teachers and principals
Allen Ray Bozeman (born 1947) of Dry ProngDry Prong, Louisiana
Dry Prong is a village in central Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 421 at the 2000 census.-History:...
in Grant Parish
Grant Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, served as the last NHS principal and prepared the school improvement plan for the 2004-2005 academic year submitted to the state department of education.
Alton Browning (1917-1979), vocational and agriculture teacher
Virginia Lee Crossno (born 1934), home economics
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
teacher; later on faculty and administration of Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
Reverend Aubrey Denson Foster (1926-2003), former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newellton and science teacher at NHS, succeeded William Vosburg as principal in the middle 1970s.
Jerry Don Head (1938-1970), head football coach and civics teacher; later crop-duster killed in air crash
Genell Moore McDonald Owen (1914-1972), English teacher
Hardy "Buddy" Palmer (born 1936), football coach and mathematics teacher
Wallace Ewing Prather (1924-2002) served as the Newellton principal during the 1950s and 1960s.
George H. "Tinker" Prince (1924-1992), business teacher
Reverend Donald Lee Thornton, Sr. (born 1936), a native of Tunica
Tunica, Mississippi
Tunica is a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, located near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s the town was one of the most impoverished places in the United States, semi-famous for the particularly deprived neighbourhood known as "Sugar Ditch Alley", named for the open...
, Mississippi, graduate of Mississippi College
Mississippi College
Mississippi College, also known as MC, is a private, Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi. Mississippi College comprises the main campus in Clinton, as well as satellite campuses in Brandon and Madison, Mississippi, and the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson...
in Clinton
Clinton, Mississippi
Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 23,347 at the 2000 United States Census.-History:...
, former pastor of the Flowers Landing Baptist Church in Newellton, mathematics and chemistry teacher and coach at NHS from 1958-1978, resident of West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and pastor in Waverly in Madison Parish. Thornton's wife, the former Beatrice Walters, graduated from NHS in 1959, and their son, Donald, Jr. (born 1960), graduated in 1978.
William Edward "Bill" Vosburg (born October 13, 1940), a native of New Roads
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads . The population was 4,996 at the 2000 census. The city's ZIP code is 70760...
, the seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, served as the NHS principal during the early years of racial transition. Vosburg later entered business 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 Parish
Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...
in north Louisiana. The superintendent at the time, Charles Ed Thompson (1932–1993), a Tensas Parish native, later accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Education in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
under state Superintendent Louis J. Michot
Louis J. Michot
Louis Joseph Michot, Jr. , is a prominent Lafayette, Louisiana, businessman, entrepreneur of the former Burger Chef restaurant chain, philanthropist, and a former Democratic state representative , member of the Louisiana Board of Education , and Louisiana State Education Superintendent...
.
Notable alumni
- Ray R. AllenRay R. AllenRay Robert Allen was a municipal public official and banker in Alexandria, Louisiana, who served in 1977 as secretary-treasurer and then finance director when his city converted from the commissioner to the mayor-council form of government.-Background:Allen was born in Yell County near Danville in...
(graduated ca. 1937), municipal official in AlexandriaAlexandria, LouisianaAlexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Louisiana
- David Lacy Barnes (Class of 1972), MonroeMonroe, LouisianaMonroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
- Donald Neal Clark (1961–2010), NHS basketball player, ca. 1978; one of the ten victims of the Deepwater HorizonDeepwater HorizonDeepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall...
oil explosion and spill, assistant driller
- C.B. Forgotston, Jr. (Class of 1962), Louisiana political watchdog
- Edwin Gustav Preis, Jr. (Class of 1965), LafayetteLafayette, LouisianaLafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
attorney
- Phil PreisPhil PreisPhillip Wesley Preis, Sr., known as Phil Preis , is a Democratic politician and attorney, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who specializes in mergers and acquisitions. A native of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Preis is the son of Patricia M. Preis of Newellton and Edwin...
(Class of 1968), Baton Rouge attorney and Louisiana gubernatorial candidate in 1995 and 1999