Sacred Heart High School (Ville Platte, Louisiana) - Background

Background

Sacred Heart School is operated under the patronage and guidance of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church Parish in Ville Platte. Sacred Heart School has operated continuously from September 1931 to the present day. However, its history began in 1913 when a Catholic school was opened and operated by the Sisters of Mount Carmel, an order of missionary nuns from Canada, under the direction of Father Louis J. Savy, pastor of Sacred Heart Church. The school remained open until 1928 when it was forced to close due to the terrible economic conditions of the time. Father J. Maurice Bourgeois succeeded Father Savy as rector of Sacred Heart in 1930. Father Bourgeois came with a three-fold mandate from Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard: to renew the spiritual life, to reopen the Catholic school, and to build a new church. Father Bourgeois arrived in Ville Platte on September 11, 1930, with no money, so his first obstacle was to borrow money from his new parishioners in order to pay the express charges to retrieve his furniture from the railway station. Two of the first tasks at hand for Father Bourgeois were to see about the renovation of the convent for occupation and the parochial school for operation after both had been left unused for several years. Through the influence of Father Bourgeois and the generosity of the people of Ville Platte, about $1,000 in funds were raised and volunteer time and labor were donated so that by September 1931 Sacred Heart School was reopened. Six Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart from New Brunswick, Canada taught one hundred children in grades 1 through 5. By September 1935 grades 6, 7 and 8 had been added. Also by that time the elementary school was awarded state certification. In 1938 the old wooden church was converted into a gymnasium-auditorium and a four classroom building was added to the campus, so a complete high school curriculum was now available to Sacred Heart students. Through the influence of Father Irving DeBlanc, the first associate pastor of Sacred Heart Church, extra-curricular activities included football, basketball, boxing, band, sodality, and elocution classes. By 1938 the Marianites of the Holy Cross had replaced the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, although for a year, the two communities of nuns worked together. Also in 1938, a new, but incomplete, Sacred Heart Church was dedicated. Sacred Heart School continued to grow and change. In 1940 a manual arts building was built and a program began with Father Bourgeois as teacher, but the program lasted just one year. Also in 1940 Sacred Heart held its first high school graduation for fourteen graduates. In 1942 the gymnasium, which had been the old wooden church, had to be demolished. Plans were begun for a new building containing classrooms and a gymnasium, but it was not until after World War II, in 1949, that the building was completed and occupied. It was estimated that the cost would be $250,000, but the actual cost of the building was $90,000.

The new high school was constructed using Army surplus buildings along with the donations of substantial amounts of materials from local contractors and volunteer labor from the men of the parish. Later, the football stadium and track fields were added and a home for the coach was acquired.

In 1957 Monsignor Bourgeois, who had received this title in 1943 from Pope Pius XII, began a drive to raise funds for the construction of a new home for the Marianites of the Holy Cross who still staffed the school. The drive included funds for the construction of a new elementary school and remodeling of the church. The community responded again and in 1959 the church renovation was completed, and the Sisters moved into their new home. In September 1960 the new elementary school was completed and classes began. The new school housed twenty-one classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, and administrative offices. With the elementary department housed in its own building, Sacred Heart High School and Sacred Heart Elementary School began operating somewhat as separate schools. In 1968 Sister Myra Banquer was named as the first full-time elementary principal, and Sister Charles continued as high school principal. Sister Alberta later replaced Sister Charles as principal of the high school. Sister Joel Speyrer served as principal of the high school from 1976-1978. Sacred Heart High School was completely destroyed by fire on the Friday afternoon of February 16, 1968. Fortunately no one was injured, but the high school, completed in 1949, was gone. Within one hour, the home of the Sacred Heart Trojans was a mass of flames, one of the biggest fires in the history of Ville Platte. Firefighters from neighboring communities were called in, but the fire was so powerful that the flames could not be contained. Even though nothing remained of the high school, classes resumed on Monday in temporary classrooms set up in the elementary building. Monsignor Bourgeois rallied the community once again. Only four days after the fire, plans were in the works for building a new school. The new high school was constructed, and the community gathered for its dedication on February 8, 1970. The only thing salvaged from the fire was a large metal cross that is now attached to the façade of the entrance of the high school. Also erected was a plaque which reads, “In testimony of the faith of the people who rebuilt the present high school building, to the memory of Chester Vidrine who made the cross, and to the love of Monsignor J. M. Bourgeois for Catholic education.” On June 1, 1970, Monsignor Bourgeois retired and was named Pastor Emeritus of Sacred Heart Parish by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder. Father Edward Fruge, who was given the title Monsignor in August 1970, succeeded Monsignor Bourgeois. On June 14, 1974, Monsignor Fruge invited Monsignor Bourgeois, who has just celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, to join him on the feast of St. Joseph to “burn the note.” Sacred Heart was now free of debt. During the term of Monsignor Fruge, Sister Myra Banquer, who was later appointed and served as Diocesan School Superintendent, served for seven years as principal of the elementary school. Sister George Pusateri replaced Sister Myra in 1975 and Sister Daniel Guidry replaced Sister George in 1978. They were the last of the religious to serve as principals of the elementary school. The Marianites of the Holy Cross remained on the teaching staff of Sacred Heart School until 1987. Monsignor J. Maurice Bourgeois died on June 14, 1978, the fifty-fourth anniversary of his ordination. His death was a grave milestone in Sacred Heart history; however, the school Monsignor Bourgeois opened forty-seven years earlier continued to grow under the capable guidance of Monsignor Fruge. In 1978 Mr. Larry Vidrine was appointed the first lay principal of Sacred Heart High School, replacing Sister Joel. The high school was expanded that year to include a permanent stage, an extension of the lobby, a large multi-purpose building, permanent bleachers, locker rooms, and offices. In 1980 Mr. D. L. Vidrine became the first lay principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School. The following year the elementary school enrollment was expanded to six hundred and included preschool classes for fifteen students. In July 1982, Monsignor Fruge was transferred to Breaux Bridge and was succeeded by Father Francis Bourgeois, who was forced to resign in 1984 due to ill health. Father Michael Jarrell succeeded Father Bourgeois on January 15, 1984. As early as February 1983, the Sacred Heart School Board began looking into the long-term needs of the elementary school, but it was not until the spring of 1988 that a committee began work on the plans for a multi-purpose gymnasium. The gymnasium was completed and ready for use in October 1988. By that time, Mr. D. L. Vidrine had retired as principal and was succeeded in 1987 by Mr. Sidney Ortego, retired Superintendent of Evangeline Parish Schools. In 1988 Father Jarrell became Monsignor Jarrell. He and Mr. Ortego along with the Sacred Heart School Board worked to improve the elementary school by renovating the convent that was no longer occupied. This project converted the convent into a classroom building for seventh and eighth grades that was occupied by August 1990. Mr. Ortego retired as principal of Sacred Heart Elementary in July 1992 and was replaced by Mrs. Paula F. Landreneau. In the fall of 1992, Monsignor Jarrell, Mrs. Landreneau and the school board began plans for converting the courtyard of the elementary school into a science laboratory, renovating rooms, re-roofing the building, and adding two computer labs for both lower and upper grade students. Discontinuing the preschool program created space for one of the computer labs. The entire project was completed and ready for occupancy in the fall of 1993. In the spring of 1993, Monsignor Jarrell was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeaux and was succeeded as pastor of Sacred Heart Church by Father J. Robert Romero, known to parishioners as “Father Bob.” In June 1998, Mr. Larry Vidrine retired as principal of Sacred Heart High School, and the school was once again united under one leadership as Mrs. Paula Landreneau was appointed as principal of the entire Sacred Heart School, grades K-12. In October 1999, Father Romero was given the title of Monsignor. In June 2002, Mrs. Landreneau retired as principal of Sacred Heart School. A new administrative structure was developed and implemented in July 2002. The new administrative personnel consisted of Dr. Sherry Cormier, CEO/Administrator, whose responsibilities encompassed all aspects of the school; Mrs. Tina Brignac, Headmistress responsible for the elementary department; and Mr. Andrew Ducote, Headmaster responsible for the high school department. With the resignation of Dr. Cormier in 2003, Mr. Ducote was appointed Principal of Sacred Heart School while Mrs. Brignac continued as Headmistress of the elementary department. In June 2005, Monsignor Romero was transferred to Opelousas, and was succeeded by Father Gene Tremie, a native of Ville Platte, as pastor of Sacred Heart Church. A huge fund drive had begun under Monsignor Romero’s guidance for a new addition and renovations to the high school. The actual groundbreaking took place after his departure. The new addition, which consists of eleven classrooms, a computer lab, a commons area, a serving and dining area, and a chapel with a confessional, was completed and ready for use by August 2006. A dedication for the new addition to the high school was conducted by Bishop Jarrell on August 14, 2006 just days before school began. In June 2006, Mr. Andrew Ducote was appointed Principal of Sacred Heart High School, and Mrs. Joni Duos was appointed Principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School. Mrs. Duos resigned as principal of the elementary school in the spring of 2008. Mrs. Tina Brignac served as interim principal for the remainder of the school year. Mr. David P. Fontenot was appointed as Principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School in 2008 to replace Mrs. Duos. Sacred Heart School continues to live by the “Do or Die” spirit embodied in the life and example of Monsignor J. M. Bourgeois.