birthday-august-event-45.html
0817 AUGUST
46 / 96
by joy holden
istrouma
high
school
connect / l o c a l p r o f i l e north baton rouge is getting a very special gift for the 100th anniversary of istrouma high: a new school! istrouma high school, founded in 1917 and built at its current location in 1951, was closed in 2014 due to low performance but is reopening its doors this month. ?e community high school gets a new look with a $24.1 million renovation and an entirely new faculty and administration. ?is new start begins with a principal who is no stranger to the campus. reginald douglas taught at istrouma for five years as his first teaching job in the early 2000s and is enthusiastic about his return. ??is is such a blessing to come back,? douglas shares. he has grand plans for the school and has a faculty prepared to make them into a reality. ?we are blessed to have teachers that have been working all summer. ?ey are ready to get in and start getting their classrooms ready.? he is confident their team will work in unity for great academic success. istrouma high school sits at the corner of winbourne and 38th street and was once the hub of the neighborhood. so much so that when the state closed the school, alumni and residents started a petition immediately to resurrect it. ?e istrouma advisory council and many others campaigned tirelessly to reinstate the community institution, and their hard work is coming to fruition. ?e massive campus is getting an impressive facelift that will transform the entire block. ?e neighborhood is anticipating new life with the return of the high school. since the closure in 2014, students from the 70805 zip code have been leaving their communities to be bused across town to go to school, which has caused two significant problems. first, kids have to get up extremely early, and because they have to catch the bus after school, they cannot participate in after-school activities. ?many kids couldn?t really have a vested interest in the schools that they went to. ?e kids were not connected to something meaningful,? douglas says. ?e second problem is the community doesn?t have something to be connected to. he explains, ?when you shut down a school like istrouma that?s in the middle of the community, it takes an institution out of the community that everyone can be a part of, which affects not only teens and their families but also the alumni from the past.? reopening the school ?gives kids the ability to go to school in their neighborhood, play sports, be in the band, participate in extracurricular activities, and do the things that they love,? douglas emphasizes. ?e high school has the potential to connect everyone in the area, the value of which cannot be overstated. ?e new istrouma high will be a center for academic excellence that prepares students for future success. douglas elaborates, ?we are going to produce school scores that will make everyone in this area proud. when the students graduate from istrouma, every kid will be able to do two things, and it?s up to them what they choose. we are going to prepare all of our kids to go to college, and they will be able to go to any university. on 4 6 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | a u g u s t 2 0 1 7
istrouma-community-school-47.html