The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) is a public residential high school located in

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; , ), officially the City of Natchitoches, is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 United States census, the city's population was ...

, US on the campus of

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville/Fort Jo ...

(NSU). It is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST). In 2016, Niche ranked LSMSA the 9th best public high school nationwide.

Background

LSMSA is the brainchild of State Representative Jimmy D. Long of Natchitoches, Robert A. Alost, then Dean of the College of Education at Northwestern State University; Democratic

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Donald G. Kelly of Natchitoches; and Governor David C. Treen, which is where the Treen auditorium gets its name. The school was conceived to offer a unique experience to the state's brightest students while supplying Natchitoches with an influx of commerce and attention. On the heels of a fleeting surplus of state funds from oil revenues following America's oil crises of the late seventies, Gov. Treen approved the funding for the school. Classes were originally held on the ground floor of Prudhomme Hall, an unused dormitory on the campus of NSU while female students lived in the upper floor and male students originally lived in Bossier Hall, another dorm. Renovation of the "High School Building," (known by no other formal title, but formerly the campus of Natchitoches High School) was completed in 1984, and the ceremonial ribbon was cut by then Louisiana Governor

Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996 ...

. The Louisiana School was the second state-supported residential school of its kind — the first being the

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school with two physical campuses located in Durham, North Carolina, and Morganton, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of scie ...

, which opened in 1980. The school was founded in the early 1980s with the first class enrolling as juniors in the fall of 1983, graduating in 1985. Academically, the school is similar to the

(NCSSM). Studies focus on

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. Like NCSSM math and science high schools, it has an

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

program, with instruction in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...

, and dance. Daily class schedules are conducted similar to college schedules (instead of the traditional class periods in most other high schools). Much of the classes are also taught with college textbooks. Among the various ensembles in both voice and instrumental, student musicians get the opportunity to perform music special to Louisiana through the Louisiana Composers' Consortium founded by LSMSA's own Dr. Al Benner. The school's College Admission Profile summarizes the school: "Graduating its first class in 1985, the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts is a state-supported, residential program, enrolling high achieving and talented students throughout Louisiana in grades ten through twelve. Most students begin as sophomores or juniors and are selected from a pool of applicants representing at least 65% of the state's public school districts, as well as private schools. The student body, therefore, represents the ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity of Louisiana residents. LSMSA is considered as a "Special School" by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education." In 2017,

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Francis C. Thompson of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

introduced legislation to name the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in honor of Jimmy D. Long, who as the chairman for sixteen years of the House Education Committee, was among those instrumental in the establishment of the institution. After strong support in the state Senate, the renaming legislation passed the House Education Committee despite heated opposition from alumni who object in part to the school having such a lengthy name.

Admissions

As LSMSA recruits students from all of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, it can be described as a statewide

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary school, and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they mo ...

. Prospective students apply during the fall of their freshman, sophomore or junior year. Applicants submit application forms, grade transcripts,

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

or ACT results, and four letters of recommendation with one optional recommendation form. Applicants to the arts curriculum also submit a portfolio of artwork or audition. As of the 2007–2008 school year, LSMSA added its first sophomore class, which composed of 40 students. 65 students have been invited to be in the 2008–2009 Sophomore class.

Residential life

Students who attend LSMSA live in dorms, away from their families, much like college students. For most of the school's history, students lived in Caddo Hall (girls) or Prudhomme Hall (boys), both long-term loans from Northwestern State University. On March 13, 2019, LSMSA hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a residence hall of their own. The four-story, 110,000 sf Living Learning Commons was designed by the joint-venture architectural team of Ashe Broussard Weinzettle and Tipton Associates. In August 2021, students returned to campus for the school year and became the first classes to occupy the Living Learning Commons. The $25 million facility, funded by the State of Louisiana, houses 360 students across 3 towers and 10 independent "neighborhoods." Amenities include a student lounge, covered porch, craft room, study rooms, a grand lobby, a health clinic, a demonstration kitchen and dining area, and an outdoor firepit. The Hall Commons in each neighborhood is suited for sharing a meal or hanging out, while the glassed-in study lounges maintain quiet for focus. Each neighborhood also features laundry facilities, with costs included in the student fee, as well as an office and apartment for the Student Life Advisor. Rules regarding residential life are fairly stringent. Students have free time during weekdays during which they can sign out to various areas within the city of Natchitoches. The Louisiana School provides a shuttle for transportation because students can only use their cars to drive home on weekends, unless they have high grades and a good disciplinary record, in which case they may use their cars for a specified time period. As LSMSA is located on a university campus, much of the residential life of LSMSA students resembles that of their university counterparts. Whereas a university has relatively little liability to bear when dealing with 18+ year old adults, LSMSA must contend with a student body mainly of minors. The school tries to enforce rigorous discipline under terms of "in loco parentis," meaning in the place of a parent.

Academic integrity

Students must agree to the following honor code pledge:

As a student of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, I understand that I belong to an institution dedicated to the pursuit of learning. Thus, I promise to uphold the Honor Code that safeguards this pursuit. I accept my personal duty to promote an honorable attitude in my academic life by refraining from lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarizing, or vandalizing.

Notable alumni

Hong Chau Hong Chau (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She has received several award nominations for her film roles as Ngoc Lan Tran in '' Downsizing'' (2017) and as Liz, a nurse, in '' The Whale'' (2022), including a nomination for the Academ ...

, actress *

Rod Dreher Ray Oliver Dreher Jr. (born February 14, 1967), known as Rod Dreher, is an American conservative writer and editor living in Hungary. He was a columnist with ''The American Conservative'' for 12 years, ending in March 2023, and remains an edito ...

(1985) - ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' editorial writer, columnist, frequent contributor to ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', ''

The New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' * Carla Speed McNeil (1986) - Comics writer and artist, most notably of '' Finder'' * Trent Dawson (1989) - actor, played Henry Coleman on

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

. * Joel Michael Guy Jr. (2006) - Convicted murderer, chemist. * Michael Hochberg (1998) - award-winning professor of

nanophotonics Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. I ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

* Angie Drobnic Holan (1990) - editor for

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and was part of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning team of journalists noted for their

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

of the 2008 presidential elections in the United States. * Mark Johnson (2002) - ''

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction The North Carolina superintendent of public instruction is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As the head of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the ...

'' * Josh Tickell (1993) - Biodiesel pioneer and director of

FUEL A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

, which won the 2008

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Audience Award for Best Documentary. *

Slater Rhea Slater David Rhea ( zh, s=帅德, t=; zh, p=Shuài Dé; literally: "Handsome Virtue", born 1987) is an American singer, songwriter and TV personality on national TV in China. Rhea is a performer of Chinese music and has made appearances on China ...

(2005) - Singer and TV personality in China. * Jeffery Roberson, aka

Varla Jean Merman Varla Jean Merman is the drag persona of American drag performer, actor and singer Jeffery Roberson. Varla's fictitious pedigree boasts that Ernest Borgnine is her father and Ethel Merman is her mother. Merman is perhaps best known for her role ...

(1987) - American actor, singer, and drag performer. * Carol S. Woodward - mathematicianCarol S Woodward
Center for Applied Scientific Computing. Retrieved 2021-09-29. * Erin Reed (2006) - Transgender journalist and activist.

Notable faculty

* William Rodney Allen - noted expert on Walker Percy and Kurt Vonnegut

References

External links

LSMSA website
{{authority control Gifted education Public high schools in Louisiana Schools in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana Boarding schools in Louisiana Educational institutions established in 1983 Magnet schools in Louisiana 1983 establishments in Louisiana Public boarding schools in the United States University-affiliated schools in the United States Northwestern State University buildings and structures