Changes

At the close of the 2005-2006 academic year, there were only seventy-four pupils in the high school grades. On May 18, 2006, the Tensas Parish School Board voted by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High School open for at least one additional year. However,the then parish Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that Newellton grades 9-12 be reassigned to the parish seat of St. Joseph, where they would attend Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which served grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment. Grades 7-8 attend Tensas High School except for the pupils in those grades in Newellton, who remain with the elementary campus there. The former Davidson High School was named for Joseph Moore Davidson (born 1894),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/tensas/church/birth001.txt|title=Edith Ziegler, Tensas Parish Archives|publisher=usgwarchives.net|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref>

At the close of the 2005-2006 academic year, there were only seventy-four pupils in the high school grades. On May 18, 2006, the Tensas Parish School Board voted by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High School open for at least one additional year. However,the then parish Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that Newellton grades 9-12 be reassigned to the parish seat of St. Joseph, where they would attend Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which served grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment. Grades 7-8 attend Tensas High School except for the pupils in those grades in Newellton, who remain with the elementary campus there. The former Davidson High School was named for Joseph Moore Davidson (born 1894),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/tensas/church/birth001.txt|title=Edith Ziegler, Tensas Parish Archives|publisher=usgwarchives.net|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref>

Ultimately, financial considerations compelled the consolidation of Newellton and Davidson schools into the rearranged Tensas High School at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph. It is located across the highway from the St. Joseph Baptist Church and near the central office of the school board. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, and fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Sheriff Rickey Jones.<ref>''The Monroe News Star,'' November 3, 2006./ref>

Ultimately, financial considerations compelled the consolidation of Newellton and Davidson schools into the rearranged Tensas High School at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph. It is located across the highway from the St. Joseph Baptist Church and near the central office of the school board. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, and fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Sheriff Rickey Jones.<ref>''The Monroe News Star,'' November 3, 2006</ref>

Newellton High School had a relatively new facility and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition, even though enrollment numbers were too low. The athletic teams known as "The Bears" drew enthusiastic support from the community for many years. The football teams usually played rivals at Davidson High School or other schools in Tallulah in Madison Parish and Mangham, or Delhi in Richland Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/_oOSShw0DUill3TBSJeHtA/newellton-bears/football-fall-05/home.htm|title=Newellton Bears Football|publisher=maxpreps.com|accessdate=December 31, 2010; information no longer accessible on-line}}</ref> For years, Edgar Allan "Jack" Poe (1916-1994) of Newellton wrote the "Our Bears" column in the parish weekly newspaper, ''The Tensas Gazette.''

Newellton High School had a relatively new facility and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition, even though enrollment numbers were too low. The athletic teams known as "The Bears" drew enthusiastic support from the community for many years. The football teams usually played rivals at Davidson High School or other schools in Tallulah in Madison Parish and Mangham, or Delhi in Richland Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/_oOSShw0DUill3TBSJeHtA/newellton-bears/football-fall-05/home.htm|title=Newellton Bears Football|publisher=maxpreps.com|accessdate=December 31, 2010; information no longer accessible on-line}}</ref> For years, Edgar Allan "Jack" Poe (1916-1994) of Newellton wrote the "Our Bears" column in the parish weekly newspaper, ''The Tensas Gazette.''

Citing low enrollments, the school board had already closed Waterproof High School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/la/Tensas/state.html|title=National Register of Historic Places: Louisiana, Tensas Parish|publisher=nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com|accessdate=January 10, 2011}}</ref> and Lisbon Elementary School, both in the economically depressed town of Waterproof in the southern part of Tensas Parish.

Citing low enrollments, the school board had already closed Waterproof High School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/la/Tensas/state.html|title=National Register of Historic Places: Louisiana, Tensas Parish|publisher=nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com|accessdate=March 23, 2021}]</ref>

In 2011, the remaining Newellton Elementary School, which is 85 percent African American, enrolled 219 of the approximately 760 public school pupils in Tensas Parish. Every child in the school is eligible for federal Title I assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localschooldirectory.com/public-school/36347/LA|title=Newellton High School: Overview|publisher=localschooldirectory.com|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref>

In 2011, the remaining Newellton Elementary School, which is 85 percent African American, enrolled 219 of the approximately 760 public school pupils in Tensas Parish. Every child in the school is eligible for federal Title I assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localschooldirectory.com/public-school/36347/LA|title=Newellton High School: Overview|publisher=localschooldirectory.com|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}</ref>