Alfred Lawless High School

Alfred Lawless High School was a public high school in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The school, a part of New Orleans Public Schools, was the only public high school in the Lower Ninth Ward.^[1]

Prior to the period Hurricane Katrina affected New Orleans in August 2005, the school had about 900 students. The campus received severe damage in Katrina. The 43-year old facility was among those that received the most damage. The floodwaters moved some buildings off of their foundations.^[1]

As of 2007, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials and State of Louisiana education leaders were discussing the level of damage over the school, causing no action to be taken on the school. FEMA stated a belief that of the six buildings, at least one could have been saved. State education leaders argued that all of the school was totally destroyed.^[1]

The Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association proposed that the Lawless campus could be developed into a charter school. The group suggested that it should be redeveloped by 2009 but the education authorities did not select Lawless. By 2007, after the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology opened, some residents of the Lower Ninth Ward have inquired about when a high school would open in the Lower Ninth Ward to serve students who graduate from King in the 8th grade.^[1]

By December 2007 the RSD received a demolition permit for Lawless High.^[2]

Notable alumni

• Robert Pack (basketball player)^[3]
• Eldridge Recasner (basketball player)^[3]
• Korey Williams (football player)^[4]

References