Zachary schools urged to save, teach their history
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ZACHARY — Superintendent Warren Drake told Zachary Community School Board members Thursday that he wants the school system to reclaim its sense of history and also develop an international education initiative.
Drake told six members who attended a discussion meeting that covered a wide range of issues that Zachary students are not “grasping our history” to the extent that they should since the district broke away from the parish system.
Board members Hubie Owen and Gaynell Young agreed to serve on a “history committee” that would include alumni and other community members.
One of the goals will be to preserve the history of Zachary High School and Northwestern High School, which merged in 1970, by collecting as much memorabilia as possible and coming up with a way to display the material.
Drake said he also wants to continue the “memory park” in front of the high school, part of which was removed during recent construction. A wall in the front of the school contains plaques bearing the names of Zachary High valedictorians and salutatorians and members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Board members said the design should incorporate the distinctive columns that were saved when the board demolished the old “Bronco Corral” building and the columns that will be saved when the old auditorium is demolished.
Another function of the committee will be to compile a database of Zachary and Northwestern High alumni and to periodically mail the former students a report on the district’s accomplishments. Drake noted the district’s Strategic Plan calls for forming an alumni group.
Drake also asked the board to consider starting an international education initiative, saying “we don’t set our expectations high enough.”
Students entering school today will be competing globally for employment when they graduate, rather than just against other graduates in the area and state, Drake said.
He gave board members information from the Masconomet Regional School District near Boston, Mass., which started a principal exchange program with China in 2008, had a faculty-led student trip to China this year and offers foreign travel opportunities for students to Spain, France and Germany.
The district also is working on a specialized international studies diploma for its students.
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