In 1904, a group of residents of the Covington area banded together to fund the building of a new public school. After acquiring a tract of land and building a one-story, 2 bedroom building, the school, called Dixon Academy, opened in 1907. The school failed to attract enough students to remain viable.
In 1911, the school property was sold to the Benedictines of nearby Saint Joseph Abbey. The school was renamed Saint Paul's, and reopened in September, 1911, with only 48 students. By the end of the first session, enrollment numbered 70 boarders and 30 day students.
Meanwhile, nineteen French Christian Brothers had emigrated to Louisiana from France and Mexico, having been exiled for political reasons and purchased the school from the Benedictines.[2]
Although Saint Paul's originally taught students only at high school level, it grew to encompass middle and elementary levels; this continued into the 1950s. However, by the 1960s there were enough other schools in the area to allow Saint Paul's to begin to eliminate the younger grades, with the intention of focusing on a college preparatory curriculum. By the late 1970s, the school had a six-year program, 7th-12th grades. The 1981-82 year was the final session with a 7th grade class, and the school continues a five-year program to this day.
The original Dixon Academy building (known as Dixon Hall on campus) had long been supplanted by other buildings, but remained standing and used for storage. In November 1981, during Thanksgiving break, the building burned to the ground; a forensic investigation determined old electrical wiring to be the cause. Using bricks from the original structure, a patio/garden area was created on the site, and dubbed "Founders' Circle".
The last of the original 19 brothers, Bro. Charles Crouzet, remained living on campus, although retired from teaching, until his death in 1985. A statue of Jesus was erected in Founders' Circle and dedicated to Bro. Charles in honor of his faithful devotion to the school and God.
As a boarding school, Saint Paul's was able to accommodate students from a wide geographic area; over the years, students from Central and South America, France, Greece, Russia, Korea, and Japan attended. However, due to a general decline in boarders, the increasing expense of housing residents, and the prospect of overhauling a dormitory which was in disrepair, Saint Paul's converted to an all day-student program beginning with the 2003-2004 school year.
In 2011, Saint Paul's celebrated its centennial birthday.
The Lasalle Hall dormitory was originally built as a two-wing building in 1964, with a third central wing added in 1970. In 2010-2011, the center wing (which had deteriorated beyond repair) was removed, and the remaining space underwent a full renovation and conversion into classroom space as the new Math and Science building. In the central courtyard, a set of pillars was added with plaques for each of the Lasallian Core Principles. The first day of classes in the renovated space was January 9, 2012.
During the 2014-2015 school year, Saint Paul's started construction on a new gym for the Gene Bennet Sports Complex. The new gym was completed and dedicated in September 2015. The new gym is the primary home for basketball and physical education programs, while wrestling and powerlifting is housed in a renovated Gene Bennett Sports Complex.
During summer 2018 to fall 2018, Benilde Hall was renovated. Saint Paul's removed the second floor library and the ground floor was made into a student commons area.
St. Paul's School athletics competes in the LHSAA.
The school offers the following sports programs:
Baseball
Basketball
Bowling
Cross Country
Football
Golf
In-Line Hockey
Lacrosse
Powerlifting
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field
Ultimate Frisbee
Wrestling
Championships
Baseball Championships
(1) State: 2019
Cross Country Championships
(6) State: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2016
The team won six state championships, four consecutively in '98, '99, '00, '01, and two more in '13 and '16.[7][8] In 2011 the team placed 3rd in the LHSAA state championships and in 2012 were the state runners-up.
In 2017, Eric Coston set the Louisiana high school 3-mile record time at 14:25.7[9]
The soccer team beat Jesuit-New Orleans in the 2011 State Championship.[10] The team ended as runner up to Jesuit in the 2012 state championship. The team won a state championship again in 2013 and in 2014, the team beat Grace King 3-0 to win another state championship. During the 2015 season, the soccer team was rated #1 in Louisiana and #1 in the country. They again won the state championship in 2015 to make it a 3-peat. Then, in 2016, the soccer team defeated Catholic High in Baton Rouge, LA to make it a 4-peat.
Tennis Championships
(1) State: 1991 (First state championship in school history)
Briggs Assembly Center: used for campus ministry, graduation performances, fund raisers, school functions.
Brother's Residence
Cafeteria
Chapel
The Gene Bennett Sports Complex: basketball court, wrestling room, weight room, locker room, trainer's office, football coach's office
Horack Pavilion
Hunter Stadium
La Salle Hall: originally used as a dormitory building, but after major renovations in 2011, the building now features over 30,000 square feet of academic space.
Main School Building: a two-story building housing the Records/Attendance Offices.
Maintenance Building
New Gym - finished in fall 2015-2016 school year.
Wolf Dome
Brother Raymond Bulliard, FSC
Brother Raymond Bulliard, referred to by students as "Brother Ray," was the 17th Christian Brother President of St. Paul's School and is given credit for the school's success. In addition to serving the school as its president, Brother Ray also was regarded as one of the greatest principals and English teachers in the school’s 111-year history. He was known for his special gift for remembering the names and interests of every student at the school. He died on April 23, 2023, after being diagnosed with cancer.
