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Donaldsonville High School

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Donaldsonville High School (DHS), is a public high school in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, United States. It is within the Ascension Parish School Board.

The current[when?] principal is Marvin Evans (2013). The Associate Principal is Daryl Comery. There are two Assistant Principals: Nicole Elmore and Maria Babin. The school mascot is the tiger, and the school colors are red and black.

In 1831 there seems to have been a public school in Donaldsonville. This building was situated on the square bounded by Cabahonoose Street(now Railroad Avenue), Opelousas St., Attakapas St.,(now Nicholls Avenue) and the Town Square. It was used continuously as a public school until the beginning of the War Between the States.

The organization of the school is unknown, other than that it was conducted by one teacher. No public school was operated in Donaldsonville after the one referred to previously until 1885, when the Ascension Parish School Board authorized the opening of the Academy of Ascension in Donaldsonville. Composing its faculty were the following: L.C. Ferrell, principal, Mrs. C. Keating, Miss Margaret C. Hanson and Miss Willie C. Garnett. Pupil enrollment was in excess of 200. On February 6, 1887, Professor R.N. Sims appeared before the parish school board and reported on the condition of the Ascension Academy. At his request it was resolved, "that the superintendent with R.N. Sims be requested to take all the necessary steps to get the permit for the Louisiana State Board of Education to add a High School Department to the Ascension Academy. "Seven months later the board received a letter from J.P. Calhoun, State Superintendent of Public Education, empowering the board to "consider the Ascension Academy an established public high school of Ascension parish. In the year 1897, twelve years after the first school was in operation, the first high school was established. The faculty consisted of Principal R.N. Sims, and Miss Sudie Robertson, Clarence Thompson, Mamie Armitage, Ida Turner and Celestine Lastrappes.

The 1st graduating class to receive state diplomas was a class of seven girls. School growth increased and the old plant was not large enough to accommodate this growth. Realizing that it was imperative that something be done about the matter, at the suggestion of Board President E.N. Pugh, the board decided to make plans for the erection of a new and modern building. The town of Donaldsonville voted a $25,000.00 bond issue and the parish Police Jury approiated a like amount. After other necessary legal steps were taken and completed, a modern brick school building, one of the finest of its kind in Louisiana at that time, was erected on the site of the old Ascension Academy building. The building was dedicated with due ceremony on May 17, 1907, and was ready for occupancy in the fall of that year. Consolidation of schools started in 1916 with the closing of the elementary school at Barton. This was followed by the closing of the Elise school in 1925, the Sacramento School in 1927, and the Smoke Bend school in 1929.

In 1975 Lowery High School merged with Donaldsonville High School. DHS has remained the sole public High School in West Ascension Parish. By 1921 continued growth forced the school board to call for a"$100,000.00 bond issue for the purpose of erecting, repairing and equipping school buildings in school district No. 7". As a result of the election, the original brick building was repaired, and a new one built on a site removed from the original building. Upon its completion in 1925, the new building was occupied by grades one to four. However, in 1927 a change was made, and this building was used by the high school department and the other one by the elementary grades. In 1939, as part of a WPA project, a site was constructed on Lee Avenue. A central building and a gymnasium were constructed. In 1954, a district bond issue was passed for further expansion. An addition was constructed in 1965, the present site of Ascension Parish School Board Head Start.

Donaldsonville High School has been involved in interscholastic activities since its early years. As early as 1898 the school sent an exhibit to Nashville, Tennessee, to compete with many other schools. It also entered into competition with other schools of the parish in rallies, the first of which was held in Donaldsonville in the spring of 1908. This practice continued for twenty years but had to be discontinued due to all schools not opening at the same time in order that the children of east Ascension parish could help with the strawberry crop. In 1921 the Sugar Belt Rally, participated in by the schools of Assumption, Terrebone, Lafourche and Ascension parishes, took place in Donaldsonville. Donaldsonville High School has boasted of outstanding athletic teams' boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track, baseball, softball and football. The football team was first established in 1927. State Championships have been earned by the students of Donaldsonville beginning with the 1956 Class B football title under head coach Floyd Boutee. Donaldsonville High School girls' basketball teams have earned state championships in 1987, 1991, 1999 under head coach Alan Marroy. The boys' track teams earned outdoor championships in 1997 and 1998, along with an indoor title in 1998, under head coach Bill Jones.

In 1976 construction began on a new Donaldsonville High School site on a tract of land off of La. 1 south. The present site was completed and occupied in the spring of 1977. Formal dedication of the building occurred on April 23, 1978. The present campus is continual being upgraded with the addition of an auxiliary gym, classrooms, a kitchen for the Family and Consumer Science Department, the addition of an athletic fieldhouse, track and baseball/softball complex. As history is always to repeat, Donaldsonville High School is at the present time undergoing renovations and updates. The challenges of the early faculties and administrations are reborn anew in the challenges of the 21st century. As we have seen by our history one constant of the people of west Ascension parishes the shining beacon of Donaldsonville High School. DHS is truly a place that will continue to provide academic excellence for all students resulting in lifelong learners and productive members of a changing society.

DONALDSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 

L.C. Ferrell  1885-1889 

G.C. Cole  1889-1890 

A. W. Meadows  1890-1892 

M. Knobloch  1892-1893 

Wm. J. Gahan  1893-1895 

R.N. Sims  1895-1898 

J.O. Taylor  1989-1902 

J.L. Rusca  1902-1909 

Arnold Pearce  1909-1910 

J.H. Dupy  1910-1911 

H.B. Messick  1911-1912 

A.J. Dupy  1912 

R.S. Vickers  1912-1914 

W.H. Miller  1914-1915 

R.S. Vickers  1915-1919 

B.C. Alwes  1919-1951 

C.C. Goette  1951-1965 

Keith Falcon  1965-1973 

John Oubre  1973-1977 

Violet Marchand  1977-1980 

Emile Chiquet  1981-1993 

Gerald Alexander  1993-1998 

Ronald Rabalais  1999-2008 

Gwen Boudreaux  2008-2010

Dr. Esrom Pitre 2010-2013

Marvin Evans   2013–present

Statistics

Ethnicity

Sports

Donaldsonville High School is an AAA school.

American football

Current Head coach : Brian Richardson
Current Assistant Coaches :Brian Richardson, Jason Worley(Non-Staff), Cornelius White(Non-Staff)

Past Head Football Coaches (11-Man Football Era)
Terence Williams
Gary Adkins
Bill Jones
Jimmy Dykes
Charles "Charlie" Kuss
C.J. Alexander
Floyd Boutte

Notable alumni

References

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