re: Shocking display electrifies Baker High on first day of school

quote:

---

When I was starting my freshman year at SLU back in the 80's, a guy in my dorm from Baker was proud as shite of Baker high school... Wonder how he feels now...

---

I know some former graduates from mid 80s to the very early 90s, and they have good memories of the school. I was surprised when i found out recently that it wasn’t its own district back then as they all seemed focused on being from Baker schools & the city of Baker growing up. Looking at some of their high school pics whites seemed to make up at least 55% to 65% percent (pretty small sample of pics so may be way off) but also seemed to show whites & blacks having fun and doing official school extracurricular activities together. Many of both races going to college and doing well. It kind of reminded me a little of my high school in regards to being fairly close to same numbers of whites & blacks. It seems like a lot of their families and friends’ families started moving elsewhere in the 90s starting with parents that no longer had kids in school system but then later ones with kids that just ended up finishing elsewhere before Baker officially became a district.

Did this exodus start to happen because Baker started looking into having its own school district in 1991 with most done around 1995, or because creating their own district took so long to happen including negotiations with Justice, NAACP, & EBRSD in regards to the long standing desegregation case? It seems like by the time it was approved by judge in 2002 and district starting in 2003-2004 a large number of the original families & residents pushing for district and seemingly proud of being from Baker schools had long since moved away from Baker.

It kind of coincides with some of what I saw throughout 90s with other friends’ families that before had gone to other public schools within city of Baton Rouge around same time so doubt it was because of push to form district. I was wondering if they had let Baker separate a lot sooner would it have happened less there already being incorporated well before push to create their own district and if they then could have better dealt with the upcoming influx of Katrina evacuees.