In a room packed with students, alumni and staff of East Ascension High School on Friday morning, Superintendent Edith Walker ushered in a new era for the Ascension Parish School District.
“In 2020, voters of Ascension Parish approved funding for districtwide construction projects, which included the rebuild and modernization of East Ascension High School,” she said. “This building is the final piece of a multistage investment in the total redevelopment of EA.”
Friday’s ceremony for the new building — the culmination of years of planning and construction in response to the parish’s rapid growth — marks the beginning of ribbon-cutting season for the district. In the coming weeks, it will unveil the new Prairieville High School and renovations to Donaldsonville High School, just before ushering in the new school year.
Walker and Principal Lauren Lambert Avery spoke at the ceremony, stationed in front of a wall depicting a towering image of the school’s Trojan mascot. On the wall, a quote emphasized the building’s community history.
“In the sixth year of the sixties, East Ascension High began anew,” it states. “Though the years press ever onward, our alma mater, we love you!”
The 131,000-square-foot facility, with a price tag of more than $34 million, has been in the works since 2020, when voters approved a tax renewal for bonds for the project. Construction began in 2022, completely tearing down and replacing the building while students continued to have classes.
The project was especially needed because of the parish’s extensive growth. According to data provided by Jackie Tisdell, the district's public information officer, the system had just under 21,500 students enrolled in February 2014. A decade later, that number was over 24,100.
Speaking with The Advocate after the ceremony, Avery talked about the anticipated continued growth.
“Ascension Parish is just growing by leaps and bounds and has been since the '90s, and we are continuing to grow,” she said. “ … For us, that's great. You know, the diversity, having a large number of students is what we want.”
‘Every single student matters’
Avery said the new school building was meant to honor the approximately 20,000 students who have graduated since 1966.
“Our goal was to make sure that the new building didn't just represent the current students or those that were in the future, but that truly represented every student that's walked through this building,” she said. “So, we worked really hard to make sure that we preserved certain pieces of our history that we could.”
She gave one example, pointing to side portraits of former students, which hang from the walls in the building.
“That represents those students, just to show that every single student matters on our campus,” she explained. “And so, it’s been fantastic. We’re just thrilled. We're so thankful to our constituents for paying for this beautiful new building, but we worked really hard to make sure that it was a great combination of the past and the present.”
Near the gym, archival photographs decorate the walls of awards display cases. Similar pictures are situated within the entry hall.
Archival photographs decorate the walls across East Ascension High School, honoring the history of the school.
“We started with 1,500, what we considered iconic pictures,” Avery explained. “ … So that was a real big focus for us, to make sure that we appropriately had represented all groups of people, all decades, all organizations, all programs from 1966 to 2024.”
Outside, by a sculpture depicting a Trojan helmet, attendees examined commemorative bricks of families and individuals who donated funds to help with the project.
Vicki Vargas, who grew up in Gonzales and graduated from the school in 1984, said she most remembered the school spirit.
“There was always a big spirit at East Ascension High School. Always,” she said. “Whenever you came to school, the mall was filled with all your classmates. And [it’s] no longer here, but the spirit remains here.”
She added that all eight of her children have attended the school, including a daughter who is entering senior year. And despite Vargas' memories associated with the former building, she appreciated the new structure.
“It was bittersweet to watch it go, but it just, it warms my heart to see the new,” she said. “I think it's phenomenal. The kids deserve this.”