Ouachita Parish High School

Ouachita Parish High School is a public high school located an unincorporated area of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States, with a Monroe postal address.^[1] The school is administered by the Ouachita Parish School Board and is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's mascot is the Lion.

Ouachita Parish High School
Ouachita Parish High School, located in unincorporated Ouachita Parish, Louisiana[1]
Address
681 Highway 594 Monroe address , Louisiana 71203 United States
Coordinates	32.502°N 91.991°W / 32.502; -91.991
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Strong Alone, Unstoppable Together
Established	1894
School district	Ouachita Parish School Board
Principal	Charles Wright
Teaching staff	75.52 (FTE)[2]
Grades	8–12
Enrollment	1,190 (2023-2024)[2]
Color(s)	Cardinal and White
Mascot	Lions
Nickname	The O, OPHS; Madhouse on Milhaven; O-block
Rival	West Monroe High School, Neville High School, Ruston High School
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Yearbook	The Roarer
Website	https://ouachitahigh.opsb.net
Ouachita Parish High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The 1924 building, now the Ouachita Grand Plaza
Location	500 S. Grand St., Monroe, Louisiana
Coordinates	32°29′52″N 92°06′58″W
Architectural style	Jacobean Revival
NRHP reference No.	81000297
Added to NRHP	April 9, 1981

History

Ouachita Parish High School, founded in 1894, holds the distinction of being the oldest school in northeast Louisiana.^[3] Over its long history, the school has occupied four different buildings, with the second location being registered on the National Register of Historic Places.^[4]

The first Ouachita Parish High School was established in 1895 between St. John and South Grand Streets in downtown Monroe, near the Ouachita River. Later, a new three-story building was erected, which was constructed in stages between 1924 and 1937. In 1957, primary and middle school classes were relocated from the original 1890s building, which was subsequently used for storage before being demolished in the early 1960s to make way for Interstate Highway 20.^[5]

The school's current location, at 681 LA-594, was completed in 1986 in Millhaven.^[6] The original building is now the Ouchita Grand Plaza, a senior housing complex.

Athletics

Ouachita Parish High School's athletics teams compete in the LHSAA. The Lions participate in district 2-5A and Louisiana 5A.

Football

Ouachita's football team has achieved significant success, winning the state championship in 1989 and finishing as runner-up in 1941 and 1994.^[7] The rivalry with West Monroe High School is famously known as the "Rebel-Lion" rivalry, referencing the mascots of the two schools, Rebels and Lions.^[8] In 2021, Ouachita Parish High School's football team ended West Monroe High School's twenty-seven-game district winning streak by defeating them 35–34 in double overtime, a significant achievement for the school.^[9]

Championships

Football Championships

• (1) State Championship: 1989

Dance team

The Ouachita Dandylions is the dance team representing Ouachita Parish High School. The Dandylions participate in state competitions held annually in Lafayette, Louisiana.^[10]

Band

The Pride of Ouachita Marching Band is one of the high school marching bands in the Monroe-West Monroe Area. In 2014, the band completed its 11th year of receiving all superior ratings in competition and was awarded "Overall Best Band in Class" for four consecutive years from 2010 to 2014.^[11]

Feeder patterns

The school takes students from the boundaries of Jack Hayes, Lakeshore, and Swartz elementary schools, which are also in the boundaries of Ouachita Junior High School and East Ouachita Middle School.^[12]

Notable alumni

• Monti Sharp (Class of 1985), Emmy Award-Winning Actor
• William Derwood Cann, Jr. (Class of 1937), World War II lieutenant colonel and mayor of Monroe from 1978 to 1979
• Julie Giroux, composer
• Jarrius Jackson, former professional basketball player
• Larry Lolley, judge
• Wojciech Myrda, former professional basketball player
• Josh Newton, NFL Player
• William Wiley Norris, III (Class of 1954, 1936-2016), city, state, and circuit court judge from West Monroe
• Robert E. Powell, former mayor of Monroe, Louisiana
• Don Redden, former professional basketball player
• Cam Sims, American football player for the Las Vegas Raiders
• Jalen Tolliver, professional football player
• Jonathan Wilhite, former professional football player
• J. Robert Wooley (Class of 1971), Louisiana insurance commissioner from 2000 to 2006

Notable faculty

• Pat Patterson, baseball coach from 1958 to 1963, former Louisiana Tech baseball coach

See also

• List of high schools in Louisiana

References

1. "Home". Ouachita Parish High School. Retrieved January 4, 2025. 681 Hwy 594 Monroe, Louisiana 71203 - Compare to this map pages 6-7 (PDF pp. 7-8/9).
2. "Ouachita Parish High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
3. Staff report. "First Ouachita school established in 2089". The News-Star. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
4. "NPGallery Asset Detail". npgallery.nps.gov. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
5. State, Dept. of Highways v. Ouachita Parish Sch. Bd., 162 So. 2d 397 (La. Ct. App. 1964)
6. "NETRonline: Historic Aerials". historicaerials.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
7. "Ouachita High School Lion Football". 14-0 Productions. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
8. Hunsucker, Adam. "Hunsucker: Lions, Rebels, and the nature of rivalry". Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
9. "Ouachita stuns West Monroe in Double Overtime; Rebels 100 game district winning streak lost". October 23, 2021. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
10. "Ouachita Parish High School – American All-Star". Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
11. Snapp, Anthony J. (2019). "Best Practices in Operating a Non-profit Marching Arts Organization". doi:10.17918/w5hj-k040. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. "Feeder Schools Correlation" (PDF). Ouachita Parish School Board. Retrieved January 4, 2024. - Linked from here.