McKinley High School (Louisiana)

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

McKinley Senior High School
Location
Map
800 East McKinley Street

Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70802

United States
Coordinates30°25′24″N 91°10′28″W / 30.42337°N 91.17436°W / 30.42337; -91.17436
Information
TypeFree public
Established1907
School districtEast Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools
PrincipalGregory Thompson [1]
Teaching staff61.93 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment827 (2023–2024)[2]
Student to teacher ratio13.35[2]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)Blue and White    
MascotPanther
NicknamePanthers
YearbookThe Big 'M'
WebsiteMcKinley High

McKinley Senior High School, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States on 800 E. McKinley St., is home to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board's first gifted and talented high school programs. The school mascot is a Panther and the school colors are royal blue and white. It was established as a school for African Americans. The original building, now an alumni center, was completed in 1926 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another former building became a junior high and then an elementary school.

McKinley High School
Historic 1926 building, now Alumni Center
McKinley High School (Louisiana) is located in Baton Rouge
McKinley High School (Louisiana)
Location1520 Thomas H. Delpit Drive
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Coordinates30°26′02″N 91°10′44″W / 30.43383°N 91.17886°W / 30.43383; -91.17886
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1926
ArchitectJones, Roessle & Olschner
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.81000292[3]
Added to NRHPNovember 16, 1981

History

[edit]

The forerunner of McKinley Senior High, was named the Hickory Street School, which was located several blocks east of the present site, in 1907–1908. The school outgrew the building, so the school was renamed The Baton Rouge Colored High School and moved to a new location.

The Baton Rouge Colored High School was located at the corner of Perkins Road and Bynum Street in 1913. This facility was later struck by lightning and destroyed.

McKinley was the first high school established for African Americans in East Baton Rouge Parish. McKinley's first graduating class was in 1916. The four students became the first African American high school graduates in Louisiana.

The original McKinley High School building was constructed in 1926 and opened in 1927, and was named in honor of the 25th President of the United States. The school opened September 19, 1927 on Texas Street, currently named Thomas H. Delpit Drive. Thomas H. Delpit was a restaurateur and his son served in the state legislature.[4]

In 1950 the High School was moved to a new facility at the corner of Louise Street and McCalop Street, next to the present day I-10. The Thomas H. Delpit Drive facility became McKinley Junior High School.[5][6]

In 1962, the third and present day McKinley Senior High School was built on East McKinley Street, the Junior High School was moved to the I-10 site, and the Thomas H. Delpit Drive site became McKinley Elementary.

The original 1926 McKinley Senior High School facility on Thomas H. Delpit Dr. was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1981,[3] and was subsequently purchased by the Alumni Association from the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on February 5, 1992. It is now being used by Alumni Association as the McKinley High School Alumni Center.[3][5][6]

On January 14, 2016, President Barack Obama hosted a town hall at Mckinley High. This was the first time a sitting president hosted a town hall at a secondary school in Louisiana.[7]

Campus

[edit]

The current campus sits in Old South Baton Rouge just to the northwest of the Louisiana State University campus, and is bordered by Lake Crest, one of the LSU lakes to the East. Facilities include five main buildings, many out buildings, football and baseball fields, tennis courts, track and field facilities, and a new black box theater which was built by students in 2006.[citation needed]

Communities served

[edit]

McKinley serves sections of Baton Rouge and half of the Gardere census-designated place.[8][9]

Academics

[edit]

McKinley offers 23 Advanced Placement courses, and is one of Baton Rouge's two high schools with a Gifted and Talented program.

As of 2007 McKinley's high academics standards, it ranked among the best in the state.[10] The students ranked 18th of all schools in Louisiana for the statewide average ACT score and 3rd in the state when comparing their Gifted and Talented program.[10]

Athletics

[edit]

McKinley competes in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) District 5 Class 5A. Their biggest rival is Scotlandville Magnet High School.

They compete in the following sports:[11]

  • Football
  • Volleyball
  • Boys and Girls Basketball
  • Boys and Girls Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Track and Cross Country
  • Baseball
  • Softball
  • Bowling
  • Wrestling
  • Swimming

Athletic history

[edit]

On 17 April 2018 the LHSAA fined the school $2,500 and placed all its athletic programs on probation for two calendar years after sanctions related to multiple sports during the 2017–18 year. Four coaches had their Louisiana High School Coaches Association card privileges revoked for one year.[12] The four programs involved were the girls junior varsity basketball, girls soccer, boys track and volleyball programs.[13] After further investigation found more than 150 eligibility and rules compliance infractions the fine was increased to nearly $42,000, the entire 2017–2018 coaching staff (both faculty and non-faculty) was banned from coaching at any LHSAA school for one year, the school was given a two-year playoff ban for all sports, and the school forfeited runner-up finishes in Division I girls basketball for 2017 and 2018.[14][15][13]

Championships

[edit]

Football championships

  • (5) State Championships: 1926, 1927, 1929, 1942, 1954

Notable alumni

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Principal's Message". McKinley High School. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c McKinley Senior High School
  3. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ https://countryroadsmagazine.com/cuisine/restaurants/delpit-s-chicken-shack/
  5. ^ a b "McKinley High School" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 11, 2018. with four photos and two maps
  6. ^ a b Allen Broussard (June 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form: McKinley High School". National Park Service. Retrieved May 11, 2018. With five photos from 1981.
  7. ^ "President Obama to speak at McKinley High on Thursday; limited number of tickets available to public".
  8. ^ "High-School-Boundary-Descriptions-15-16.pdf Archived 2016-04-18 at the Wayback Machine." East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools. Retrieved on January 6, 2017. McKinley is on p. 6/10.
  9. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Gardere CDP, LA." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 7, 2017.
  10. ^ a b McKinley High. 08 Nov. 2007. McKinley Senior High School. 18 Apr. 2008. "McKinley High" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  11. ^ Sports. Unknown Publication Date. McKinley Senior High School. 18 Apr. 2008. [1][usurped]
  12. ^ Fambrough, Robin (April 16, 2018). "East Baton Rouge schools: McKinley athletic programs on probation for 2 years; no suspensions for coaches". The Advocate. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Smith, Cam (July 12, 2018). "Louisiana's McKinley High handed unprecedented two-year all-sports playoff ban, massive fine". USA Today. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  14. ^ Fambrough, Robin (July 14, 2018). "Fambrough: LHSAA sanctions spell tough times for McKinley, but can there be TLC?". The Advocate. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  15. ^ Fambrough, Robin (July 16, 2018). "McKinley meeting to discuss life after LHSAA sanctions provides mixed response". The Advocate. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  16. ^ Donnie Ray Albert, M.M., Bass/Baritone. Unknown Publication Date. East Baton Rouge Parish Library - Our African American Legacy. 18 Apr. 2008. "Biography of Donnie Ray Albert". Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2010..
  17. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bassepe01.shtml Baseball-Reference.org
  18. ^ Tommy Green. Unknown Publication Date. basketball-reference.com 18 Apr. 2008 https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greento01.html
  19. ^ Green is new head basketball coach at Southern Univ. 23 Sep. 1996. Bnet. 18 Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_/ai_18709828
  20. ^ "Edward C. "Ted" James, II". house.louisiana.gov. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  21. ^ "Mayor congratulates Baton Rouge native for Oscar win". WBRZ. April 21, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  22. ^ Calvin Nicholas at databaseFootball.com[usurped]
  23. ^ "Herb Williams NFL Football Statistics". Retrieved February 4, 2016.
[edit]