Ouachita Parish High School is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish () is a parish located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat and largest city is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish is par ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with a

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

postal address. The school is administered by the

Ouachita Parish School Board Ouachita Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in West Monroe, Louisiana, West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. The district serves Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, Ouachita Parish except for areas within the City of Monroe; thos ...

and is fully accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

. The school's mascot is the Lion.

History

Ouachita Parish High School, founded in 1894, holds the distinction of being the oldest school in northeast Louisiana. Over its long history, the school has occupied four different buildings, with the second location being registered on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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. The school's current location, at 681 LA-594, was completed in 1986 in Millhaven. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.
Linked from here

Notable alumni

Monti Sharp Monti Sharp is an American actor, best known for his role as David Grant on the daytime US drama ''Guiding Light''. Sharp received professional actor training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Career Sharp was the first act ...

(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 Jarrius Jackson (born June 18, 1985) is an American-born naturalised-Italian professional basketball player who last played for Umana Reyer Venezia of the I High school career The Monroe, Louisiana native played for local Ouachita Parish High S ...

, former professional basketball player * Larry Lolley, judge *

Wojciech Myrda Wojciech Myrda (March 18, 1979 – September 19, 2018) was a Polish professional basketball player. At tall, he played the center position. He was born in Poland but graduated from high school in the United States. Myrda attended Ouachita Paris ...

, former professional basketball player *

Josh Newton Joshua or Josh Newton may refer to: * Joshua Newton (writer) (born 1969), Indian writer * Josh Newton (musician) Josh Newton (born June 8, 1973) is an American musician, perhaps best known for his tenure as the bassist in Every Time I Die. H ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

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 Jalen Tolliver (born December 30, 1995) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Arkansas–Monticello, and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent after the 2018 NFL draft a ...

, 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 Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

baseball coach

References

{{authority control Schools in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana Public high schools in Louisiana Buildings and structures in Monroe, Louisiana Educational institutions established in 1894 1894 establishments in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana School buildings completed in 1924 School buildings completed in 1986 Jacobean architecture in the United States School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana