Lower coast gazette., 1910-10-29
This Parish Needs Two High Schools.

THE PARISH OF PLAQUEMlNEs has made won
derful strides in educational matters during re-
cent years. Under the control OF Hon. ). b.
Aswell the whole country school system OF the
state was thoroughly reorganized and the State
Board of Education adopted the plan OF insist
ing upon the selection of normal graduates as
school teachers throughout the state wherever
it was possible to secure them. Inc norman
schools in New Orleans and Natchltoches ard
the Teachers College, which is one OF the de-
partments of Newcomb College, are now supply
ing educated teachers to such an extent that
nearly every locality desiring such teachers can
secure them. There has been a gradual rise IN
the compensation of school teachers all over
the state and this has brought into the profess
sion quite a number of persons who otherwise
would have sought different employment.
We have felt this in the Parish of Plaque
mines and the general effect in the Improvement
Of our school system is very noticeable. The
high grade teachers that are now employed are
giving excellent satisfaction and II the good
work goes on for a few years we may be as
sured that our parish will take a higher stand
educationally than it has ever hitherto done.
This, however, does not reach one OF the
wants of this parish and that is such high schools
as shall come within the reach of our more ad-
vanced pupils and be so centrally located as to
be thoroughly accessible and yet so located that
the students will be able to secure board at low
or reasonable rates. For this purpose we should
advocate the organization of a high school at
Buras and another at Pointe-a-la-Hache Buras
will be thoroughly accessible from the city by
the railway and from below by the mail boats
and pupils attending high school in Buras Will
thus have ready access to their homes and an
easy method Of travelling to and fro. With the
proposed railway extension which will take place
at once on the East bank Of the river, there
should be a high school located in Pointe-a-la-
Hache. Pupils from above could reach Polnte-
a-la-Hache by the railway and those from below
would have reasonably fair facilities in reaching
it by the numerous boats plying up and doWn
the river. These schools need not be large.
Ten or twelve selected scholars would justify
the creation of such high schools at Pointe-a-la-
Hache and at Buras. When the Johns Hopkins
University was first established in Baltimore 1t
was found that the money available could only
be appropriated to educational matters. 1t was
the desire of the donors, if we recall the facts
correctly, that no considerable sum of money
should be expended in buildings, but that the
institution should begin at once it's educational
campaign.
By renting buildings, if any can be rented,
in Pointe-a-la-H ache and Buras and the securing
say of ten scholars for each school, the parish
would be justified in securing two principals,
one for each school and persons OF such CALDER
as to be competent to take these ten pupils IN
each of these schools and educate them along
lines that would lead to the general advance
ment of the educational interests Of our entire
parish.
When we reflect that in the Parish of Plaque
mines we have a population exceeding twelve
thousand persons and not a single high school
in the parish, it is significant of the fact that
educational matters have thus far occupied too
little of our attention. We have been content
with the conditions that have prevailed and per-
haps we have permitted ourselves to be sur
passed by many of the others, and some of the
very poor parishes of the state in these educa-
} tional matters. Years ago we were very much in
terested to find in North Louisiana, the so-called
hill parishes, a degree Of enthusiasm in educa-
tional matters and a patronage OF the high