The Louise S. McGehee School is an all-girls private, independent school in the Garden District in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.[1] The McGehee campus, which is one city block, has ten buildings and at least 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of space.[page needed]
History
The school, founded by Louise McGehee, opened in September 1912. It was originally called Mrs. Chapman's School. It later moved into a mansion in the Garden District.[2] The 1938 Works Progress Administration New Orleans City Guide described it as one of the most popular private schools in New Orleans.[3] In 1973 Eli N. Evans wrote in The Provincials that "For decades McGehee has been the institution by which the elite in New Orleans shield their young women from the blacks, the Jews, the poor, and the different, protecting them from ideas and associations that might lure them from their manifest destiny."[4] Historically many graduates of McGehee matriculated to H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College of Tulane University.[5]
McGehee is one of the few private, secular schools in New Orleans. They, in 2024, strive to educate their students about multiple faiths, and to foster inclusivity.
Louise S. McGehee School was founded in 1912 by Louise S. McGehee and opened in September of that year at 1439 Louisiana Avenue with 30 students. In 1929, Miss McGehee's School moved to the current location at 2343 Prytania Sreet. and became a corporation known as the Louise S. McGehee School. In the fall of 1929, there were 209 students and classes began with the fifth grade. In the 1950s, the school added grades Kindergarten through fourth grade. In 1962, a new Lower School building was dedicated for Kindergarten through Sixth Grade and in 1973, the first Pre-Kindergarten class started at the school. In the 1990s, McGehee started an Early Childhood Program "Little Gate" which is a co-educational program for children aged one through four.[6]
Before Hurricane Katrina the school had about 500 students. After Katrina hit in August 2005, the school resumed classes in October, and by November 2005 the school was down to about half of its pre-Katrina enrollment.[7]
Culture and student body
In 1973 Evans, described the school as "[t]he debutanteWest Point, the playing fields of Eton, the New Orleans version of Choate-Chapin-Cordon Bleu all rolled into one".[4] Evans had interviewed an ex-teacher, who described McGehee students as "steel butterflies" who had strong work ethics and who were dominant in relationships despite projecting images of "helpless femininity".[4]
As of 1973, the school ensured the design of each graduation dress was different.[4]
^New Orleans City Guide, p. 77. "New Orleans has had a number of private schools, only a few of which, however, survived the depression. The Louise S. McGehee School for Girls, an accredited elementary and high school founded in 1912, is one of the most popular in the city."
