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6. Schools
- University Press of Mississippi
- Chapter
- Additional Information
C H A P T E R 6 SCHOOLS School projects were by far the most numerous of the Public Works Administration (PWA) contributions to Louisiana. These efforts added 175 new buildings to parish school systems, built additions to twenty-eight existing buildings, and repaired twelve others. The new structures ranged from one-room, wood-frame schools with outhouses to a million dollar vocational school like Francis T. Nichols (now Frederick Douglass) in New Orleans or high schools in Houma, Natchitoches, Bossier City, and Ruston, each costing over half a million dollars. The impact of these new buildings was multifaceted. First, they improved the health and safety of thousands of children and their teachers who had been working in genuinely life-threatening situations. Second, they greatly accelerated a trend in consolidation of schools. The one- and two-room buildings built through the PWA that simply maintained the status quo were few compared with the substantial elementary and secondary buildings that brought in pupils from scattered sites across the state. This, in turn, made possible the third and most important impact: expansion and enrichment of the curriculum. Even the most talented and resourceful of teachers could not be expected to be equally adept at teaching English, history, geography, mathematics , science, and the arts. No two-room building could possibly offer a chemistry laboratory, a football team, or an orchestra to its students. In a consolidated school, teachers could specialize, and large numbers of students could make expanded facilities more economical. Better facilities, the chance to develop intellectually in one’s specialty, and a larger community of educators made it easier for small towns and rural areas to attract and keep qualified teachers who might otherwise go to the cities. The 71 72 CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE opportunities for both teaching and learning were expanded exponentially in consolidated schools.1 In the period after the end of the First World War, the need for better education systems was recognized. Furthermore, greater resources were required to support a growing population even without improving the system . The prosperity of the 1920s helped efforts to meet these challenges. In Shreveport, a building plan supported by a $6 million bond issue was begun in the late 1920s. In other places, the need was apparent, but remedies were not yet under way. The Depression brought everything to a stop. Most of the thirty-three proposals approved by the PWA during the Huey Long era were for physical infrastructure projects, particularly public utilities like gas, water, and sewerage. Only five of this first batch were for schools. DeSoto Parish led the way, followed by Shreveport, Greenwood, Lafourche, and Maurepas. Shreveport, using the remainder of its $6 million bond issue to put up its 70 percent contribution, had six other proposals ready, but they did not make it under the wire when Ickes froze PWA activities in Louisiana. The Shreveport proposals were for combination gymnasium/auditorium buildings to add to the elementary schools the city had just built. Such facilities provided educational opportunities otherwise unavailable in the ordinary classroom buildings. It meant that physical education and recess play could take place even on rainy days. Plays could be performed and musical groups heard in concert. Students and teachers could be brought together for convocations and assemblies of all kinds. The space could also be used for community meetings. Thus the gym/auditorium was a big step up from the minimal physical plant that could provide a basic education. Following the example of Shreveport, many schools made this addition to their programs when the PWA reopened for business in the summer of 1936. The reduction of the required local financial contribution for PWA projects from 70 to 55 percent made it easier for poorer communities to participate. Though some facilities like those at the Franklinton High School gave separate spaces to the gymnasium and the auditorium, allowing permanent seating and perhaps dressing rooms and locker rooms, the combined version was more economical and more common. The basic model was a wooden basketball floor with a stage at one end. Folding chairs filled the floor for assemblies, plays, and concerts, and were stacked or moved to the [44.193.11.123] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 09:26 GMT) SCHOOLS 73 White Castle High School gym/auditorium, now used for city recreation programs. The architects were William T. Nolan and Ulisse Nolan. Fort Necessity High School gym/auditorium by John A. Baker. 74 CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE sidelines for games. The basketball hoops were...