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St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)

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St. Augustine High School (also known as "St. Aug") is a private, Catholic, all-boys high school run by the Josephites in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded in 1951 and includes grades 8 through 12.

St. Augustine High School
school building in 2021
Address
Map
2600 A.P. Tureaud Avenue

New Orleans
,
Louisiana
70119

United States
Coordinates29°59′1″N 90°4′6″W / 29.98361°N 90.06833°W / 29.98361; -90.06833
Information
TypePrivate, College-prep
MottoGratia est vita
(Grace is life)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic,
Josephite Fathers and Brothers
Patron saint(s)St. Augustine of Hippo
Founded1951
PresidentAulston Taylor (interim)
DeanDarren Dixon
PrincipalLasana Camprice
ChaplainRev. Howard Byrd, SSJ
Grades8–12
GenderAll-Boys
Enrollment650 - 700
Color(s)Purple and Gold    
Athletics conference
MascotPurple Knight
NicknameSt. Aug.
Team namePurple Knights
RivalBrother Martin Crusaders
McDonogh 35 Roneagles
AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
PublicationThe Purple Press
NewspaperThe Knight
YearbookThe Josephite
School fees$825 (2023–24)
Tuition$9,975 (2023–24)
Alumni7000+
Admissions DirectorCalvin Haynes
Athletic DirectorBarrett Rey
Websitewww.staugnola.org

History

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Origins

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St. Augustine High School was built by the Archdiocese of New Orleans with funds given by Catholics of the Archdiocese through the Youth Progress Program. The building and site were bought by the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (The Josephite Fathers and Brothers), to whom the operation of the school was entrusted. The Archdiocese of New Orleans placed the school under the patronage of St. Augustine of Hippo, a pre-eminent Christian and scholar of Africa, and a Father of the Church.[citation needed]

From its inception the school was intended for the education of young men from black Catholic families of New Orleans. In 1951, when education was segregated, schools in New Orleans open to black students were seen as generally poor.[2]

Ethos

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Respect for the students was seen as essential. The first principal wrote: "Calling the students 'mister' would help offset the negative impact of whites calling every black male 'boy' no matter what his age, his education, his standing in the community. Likewise, and for stronger reasons, the use of 'mister' would serve to negate the deleterious impact of the hateful use of the 'n' word."[3]

Although St. Augustine now welcomes students of all races, it remains a leading secondary school for black young men in Louisiana, and has long been nationally recognized in educational circles for outstanding success in preparing its students for higher education. Time magazine wrote in 1965:

"The boys are better trained than most Southern high school students of either race," says Harold Owens of Andover, one of the half-dozen leading prep schools that have accepted St. Aug students for intensive summer courses. Adds Charles McCarthy, director of a cooperative effort by the Ivy League schools to spot bright, underprivileged students: "St. Augustine produces high-quality candidates who don't disappoint the colleges once they're admitted." Peter Briggs, a freshman admissions officer at Harvard, finds St. Aug boys "interesting, constructive guys."[4]

St. Augustine High School led the way in battling segregation in New Orleans. The successful legal challenges mounted by the school (and lawyer A.P. Tureaud) resulted in the desegregation of high school athletics in Louisiana, so that by the end of the 1960s St Augustine teams could play against teams from white schools.[5]

The "Marching 100"

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The famed "Marching 100" was the first African-American high school band to march in the Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day, in 1967. The "Marching 100" also played for Pope John Paul II in 1987 and for eight U.S. Presidents.[6] Additionally, the band has performed for five Super Bowls, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and the 2002 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.[7] The band was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment New Orleans' St. Augustine High School Marching Band, the self-proclaimed "Best Band in the Land" which first aired March 14, 2021,[8] which (on the east coast) immediately preceded the live broadcast of the Grammy Awards, in which four St. Augustine alumni had been nominated.[9]

 
The "Marching 100" performing in the 2010 Endymion parade.

Upgrades

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In 1971, the school added a wing to accommodate new science laboratories, a gymnasium and athletic complex, and a music complex. In 2005 the Warren and Hilda Donald Business and Technology Center was inaugurated. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, it is intended to ensure that St. Augustine students remain competitive in a technology-driven society. During the 2021–22 school year, the school renovated entire building and locker rooms.

Hurricane Katrina

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In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina affected New Orleans. The school, including its recently built business and technology wing and its band room, received flood damage. Some areas, including the band room, had 5 feet (1.5 m) of water. The total of damages was in the millions of dollars.[10] St. Augustine High School had to close its doors for the first time since its inception.[citation needed] The school had plans to re-open in August 2006. On a temporary basis the school planned to combine with two other Catholic schools to have a K-12 school in a facility that had not been flooded.[10] In January 2006, the administrations of St. Mary's Academy, St. Augustine High School, and Xavier University Preparatory collaborated to establish the MAX School of New Orleans. This guaranteed the post-Katrina survival of the three historically African-American Roman Catholic High Schools in New Orleans.[citation needed]

The school was later rebuilt and brought back to operating status.

Reconfiguration

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Prior to 2015, St. Augustine had grades 6–12. The archdiocese began requiring schools to fit one of three grade configurations (PK-7, 8–12, or PK-12) in order to continue affiliation, and St. Augustine needed to change its grade configuration.[11] This was as per the archdiocese's 2013 strategic plan.[12] The school leadership considered changing the grade configuration to K-12.[13]

Academics

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St. Augustine says that its program of studies challenges each student to achieve his fullest individual potential. Various methodologies have been used throughout the history of the school to achieve this, from homogeneous groupings to diversified instruction methods. According to the school, its aim is to prepare students of all academic aptitudes to function successfully in their professional endeavors.

Discipline and controversy

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Throughout its history, St. Augustine has maintained a tradition of strong discipline, previously achieved in part through the use of corporal punishment. Time magazine reported in 1965 that "the atmosphere at St. Aug's is warm but strict. Misbehaving students are whacked with an oak paddle".[4]

The school's founding principal, Fr Matthew O'Rourke, SSJ has said that the discipline instilled by what he called the "Board of Education" was important because learning could not go on without it. With it, students were so well-behaved that visitors to the campus were amazed.[14]

Basketball star Hollis Price, who attended the school in the late 1990s, states that he got paddled for talking in class, "on the court, everywhere", and that his "aching backside" taught him the value of discipline.[15][16]

The practice of corporal punishment was suspended at St. Augustine in 2011 on the orders of Archbishop Gregory Aymond, who claimed the practice was inconsistent with Catholic teachings. An Archdiocisean review conducted by Dr. Monica Applewhite, described as an expert in safe environment training and child protection, determined that "the school's corporal punishment was both excessive and unreasonable and the school did not have effective safeguards to prevent future abuse."[17]

The archbishop's decision to abolish paddling created uproar at the school, among students and teachers as well as former students. On February 24, 2011, a four-hour "town hall" meeting was held in the school gymnasium, at which students and alumni mounted an "impassioned defense" of corporal punishment, stating that it had been valuable for them in teaching that there are consequences to actions. Parents and teachers also attended and opposed the ban.[18]

At the meeting, the Principal said that since paddling stopped there had been an increase in bullying and detentions at the school. In response to a statement by the archbishop that no other Catholic schools in New Orleans now employed corporal discipline, District Court Judge Kern Reese, an alumnus of the school, said, "we are not everyone else. We don't care about everyone else. This (corporal punishment) works at St. Augustine".[19]

On March 26, 2011, more than 500 students, parents and others marched on an archdiocese office to deliver a message in favor of paddling. President of the student body Jacob Washington said at the march that the archbishop was "trying to fix something that's not broken".

The school's president, Fr. John Raphael, SSJ objected to the archdiocese overruling the school's own board and said that the issue was about the rights of African-American parents to educate and discipline their children in their own traditions.[20] Raphael would later depart the school, the city, and the Josephites after paddling was permanently banned.

Athletics

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St. Augustine's students and its sports teams are commonly referred to as the "Purple Knights", and its school colors are purple and gold. They are a class 5A team in the Catholic League of the LHSAA.

Athletic history

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Prior to 1967, St. Augustine competed in the Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Organization (L.I.A.L.O.). St. Augustine football won three state championships (1963, 1965, 1966) and one district championship in L.I.A.L.O.[21]

Championships

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LHSAA basketball

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  • 1983: St. Augustine 61–Neville 60
  • 1992: St. Augustine 67–John Ehret 50
  • 1995: (USA Today National Champions)
    St. Augustine 57–Catholic (B.R.) 33
  • 1999: St. Augustine 54–South Lafourche 48
  • 2011: St. Augustine 67–Scotlandville 43
  • 2021: St. Augustine 47–Scotlandville 44

LHSAA football

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  • 1975
  • 1978
  • 1979

L.I.A.L.O. football

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  • 1963
  • 1965
  • 1966

Football championship history Head football coach Otis Washington was head coach for all three LHSAA football state championships at the school.[22][23]

In the 1978 championship game, the first to be played in the Superdome, the Knights defeated Catholic League rival Jesuit 14–7 in front of a crowd of 42,000. This game led the LHSAA to move all championship games to the Superdome (now the Caesars Superdome) starting in 1981, where they remain to this day, save for moves to Shreveport in 2005 due to the damage the Superdome suffered during Hurricane Katrina, and to Natchitoches in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Augustine lost the 1971 championship game, its first championship game in any sport as an LHSAA member, to archrival Brother Martin 23–0 in front of more than 25,000 fans at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans' City Park.[24]

Coaches

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Basketball

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Football

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  • Otis Washington - LHSAA Hall of Fame head football coach, Otis Washington, was head coach at St. Augustine from 1969 to 1979.[23] During his eleven seasons at the school, he compiled a 113–17–1 record and won three state championships in 1975, 1978, and 1979 and a state runner-up finish in 1971.[22][23] During his tenure at the school, he also lead the team to eleven consecutive winning seasons and seven district championships with his teams playing in the New Orleans Catholic League.[23] In 1980, Washington left to become the offensive line coach at LSU and from 1981 to 1986, he was head football coach for the Southern Jaguars football team finishing with a record of 35–30–1.[23]
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The story of the school's 1965 basketball team being the first to play in an integrated game in New Orleans is featured in the 1999 movie, Passing Glory.[31]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  2. ^ Jerry Large, "Northwest alumni of New Orleans high school savor its lifetime influence" , The Seattle Times, December 25, 2005.
  3. ^ Matthew O'Rourke, Between Law and Hope: St. Augustine High School (history of the school, 2003). OCLC 70831642
  4. ^ a b "Parochial Schools: Separate & Superior". Time. New York. January 1, 1965.
  5. ^ Louisiana High School Athletic Association v. St. Augustine High School et al. Archived May 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (1968).
  6. ^ Scott, Mike (February 24, 2017). "St. Augustine's Historic March". Times-Picayune. New Orleans. p. A12.
  7. ^ Massa, Dominic (August 15, 2009). "Legendary founder of St. Aug Marching 100 dies". CBS 4 - WWL. New Orleans.
  8. ^ Alfonsi, Sharyn (March 21, 2021). "New Orleans' St. Augustine High School Marching Band, the self-proclaimed "Best Band in the Land"". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Spera, Keith (March 10, 2021). "These 4 St. Aug former students are up for Grammys, competing for best albums in five categories". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Williams, Mike. "Few school bells ringing in this city Already plagued by bad scores, decrepit buildings, district has made little progress on repairs Archived May 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." The Austin American-Statesman. November 25, 2005. News p. A36. Retrieved on March 31, 2013. "GRAPHIC: St. Augustine High School in New Orleans had 5 feet of water in some places after Hurricane Katrina,[...]" Available on LexisNexis. Clipping at Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Tan, Sarah (January 24, 2014). "37 Catholic schools must add or drop grades, or lose their Catholic identity". The Times Picayune. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "Christian Brothers, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic schools to merge". The Times Picayune. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Tan, Sarah (March 19, 2014). "St. Augustine High School weighs adding elementary grades". The Times Picayune. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Peter Finney Jr., "St. Aug founding principal learned on the job", Clarion Herald, New Orleans, January 24, 2009, pp. 8-10.
  15. ^ "The same paddles that pounded the posteriors of former St. Augustine stars Avery Johnson, Kerry Kittles and Donald Royal eventually straightened out Price." "Price takes 'Desire' to whole new level", ESPN.com, October 30, 2003.
  16. ^ "Humble, solid foundation from Ninth Ward" Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, USA Today, March 18, 2002.
  17. ^ "Archbishop bans Corporal Punishment", Catholic News Agency, New Orleans, March 9, 2011.
  18. ^ Vanacore, Andrew (February 25, 2011). "St. Augustine High School alumni support paddling students". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  19. ^ Brown, Shelley (February 25, 2011). "Push for paddling policy to return to St. Augustine". Fox 8 News. New Orleans. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  20. ^ Dequine, Kari (March 26, 2011). "Hundreds march on archdiocese office to support St. Augustine paddling policy". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  21. ^ "History".
  22. ^ a b "The last captain: Xavier meant the world to Otis Washington, and then suddenly it was gone". theadvocate.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Louisiana coaching icon Otis Washington dies; 'legend' coached at St. Aug, Southern, LSU". theadvocate.com. May 24, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  24. ^ "An Historic Day" (PDF). brothermartin.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g "Legendary St. Augustine coach Bernard Griffith to be inducted into Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame". crescentcitysports.com. July 21, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  26. ^ "St. Augustine's Bernard Griffith to be inducted to Louisiana basketball coaches hall of fame". nola.com. March 11, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c "New Dillard basketball coach Bernard Griffith ready to reach out to community". nola.com. July 29, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  28. ^ "Katrina unites Johnson with former coach". southcoasttoday.com. June 16, 2006. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  29. ^ "Legendary basketball coach Bernard Griffith to be inducted into New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame". wdsu.com. July 12, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  30. ^ "Griffith named SUNO Athletic Director". gcaconf.com. August 15, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  31. ^ Rivera, John (February 20, 1999). "Reverend passes glory to real hero". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  32. ^ "Caleb Daniels - Men's Basketball". Tulane University Athletics.
  33. ^ Terrell, Katherine (January 15, 2013). "Abramson graduate Jacoby Jones made the most of his chance in stunning Ravens' victory". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
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