Story

An 84-year-old elementary school named after Baton Rouge’s first mayor received a re-build and expansion, in essence, creating an entirely new campus.

The school, at the northern edge of what is called the Garden District, was built in 1923, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has educated many of Baton Rouge’s most-famous residents. John Dufrocq served as mayor from 1846-1855.

The resulting school was designed to house three programs on one campus: a traditional neighborhood elementary school, a Montessori program , and a language immersion program; for that reason, three physcially distinct areas were created to segment the three components.

The aesthetical appearance of the 47,000 square foot addition blends the new with the old.  The new entrance 'bridges' the two structures, while appearing to open it's arms to welcome all students of all programs.  Inside, key areas such as the media center, cafeteria, and original auditiorium have new or maintained original fenestration that reduce lighting requirements, while providing an openness that is unparallelled in elsewhere in the School System.  The classrooms carry-on the concept of natural light and opennesss.