Former Site of Aurora Gardens Academy (New Orleans, Louisiana)

USA / Louisiana / Cut Off / New Orleans, Louisiana
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Defunct school which ran from the 1960s to the 1990s.
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Coordinates:   29°55'51"N   89°59'50"W

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  • I attended this school from Kindergarden to Fourth grade (1973-1979). The Battle of New Orleans was fought on all or a portion of the school grounds, and I remember seeing bullet holes in the trees. Also, I as well as others dug up artifacts which of course I no longer have. My brother once dug up a tiny brass bell, and I remember something sticking out of the ground near a tree. I can only describe it as something one would use to sharpen a knife. I tried several times to dig this object out of the ground, but of course I did not have a shovel or similar tool to use. Unfortunately, I never asked a coach or teacher to come take a look at it.
  • I attended this school for only one year, 5th grade 1986. I remember playing flag football in the field behind the school near the river. I also remember the headmaster having a discussion with us. He said, "today I was approached by a salesman offering to sell me a product that would remove graffiti from walls, and I told him that we do not have any need for such a product because all of our students here are exceptional". For some reason that really stuck with me. Sorry, I don't have anything more poignant or historical, just some old memories.
  • I attended Aurora Gardens in the 70's and early 80's. I was in the last 9th grade class before they stopped having high school classes. I loved seeing the bullet holes and the soldiers names carved into the trees from the Battle of New Orleans. I remember the wonderful cultural field trips that we took to the opera, ballet, zoo, museums, etc. I also remember wearing the God-awful one piece red gym suits and how horribly they stuck to the skin in the Louisiana heat. My brother attended from 1st-3rd grades. It was a wonderful school that had the most amazing curriculum. I'm sad to learn that it closed.
  • I attended late 70 to early 80's. I have visited this site thru the years and the stories came more and more as time would reveal. The school was separated by a tree line and private-public ruined sport field, which both areas belonging to the school. The school was private but owned by the catholic church. The tree line and ditch was the last land mark left visible from the war. The school was above others for studies and development and a bit home school but it had a history with child abuse with a couple of the instructors (the idea of loose lips sinks ships haunted contracted persons livelihoods, kept the seen quite). In time the money would not support increasing cost to run the school, including that special public schools offering west bank families of higher means, approval to apply to their magnet teaching with some higher help and contributions; new school planning at that time and less costly to the parents which last school high billing made way for some change. The school closed and the roman head quarters left time to push the final act for the late 90's. The property came for sale very cheap and members of the next door tennis membership with the right city council board approval including quite dealings forced the deal to level all land including the yearly youth sports park and history to start a pyramid scheme for development of a privet suburb development. One of the interesting after stories, think in 1988 or 87; there a warehouse between the two places near the ditch. The oldest grounds keeper had kept active, seen living or thought to been living free in the place for the school for many years(truck seem to come and go everyday from that place). One day i got into that warehouse due to a open door and found during a event. A lot of private girls schools storage from the European ruined church(a lot of Latin and Italian writings and books lying about). The church had the warehouse filled with things that where left from both sides of the world; strange list of finds. One of the strangest was a room hidden behind those relics and boxes. You had to search to find this living cove. It was totally chain linked even the door with boxes hiding all views. It had a single bed, one hanging lamp, one chair and a water bowl with a towel. I found books of porno and a lot of underground Satan magazines and written materials stuffed between the bed and springs. The Satan stuff was heavily depicted with occult practice with illustrations and writings. The area looked very out of date but currently used. The bed well made and tight like a military bunk. Every part in the room look as nothing was out of place. Me and some mates reported some of this with our friends and some of this got to some elders, but no interest was shown (like some over imagined gossip). Three days had passed and some wandering adults came the place but the whole warehouse was found empty and the grounds keeper was never seen again( if you live N.O. you know you will always come across people you once knew or someone who has ruin across them at least once or two times every ten years). I have more stories and memories of that place and I will add more at a later time.
  • I went to AGA from 86-88. I was in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades. I remember the trees with the bullet holes in them with soldiers names on them. I can remember thinking of how huge the school was to me. The play area with the swings and jungle gym seemed so large and vast. I also remember playing lots of soccer during recess. For some reason soccer was a very popular sport there. I later on became friends with Head PE coach Steve Volo's son Ryan Volo, who was one year ahead of me. Ive only come across a very small handful of people i remember attending school with. The one thing that sticks out in my mind is how gorgeous the school was in the spring time. I wish i would have stayed there for my grammer school education. Probable some where in early 2000 or 2001 i drove past the location of the school and found a new neighborhood. I remember wishing how badly the school was still there just so i go walk around again.
  • I went to AGA from 1969-1972! I remember a public announcement that forbade kids from wearing jeans with flowers on them. I remember the fortifications, and the legend that you could find bullets etc. from 1812 and I looked for some. I also remember being the last person to see a neighbor kid get off the school bus before he was accidently run over and killed. I went home and didn't know anything was wrong, until Principal Skullens unexpectedly appeared in the room I was doing homework in to use the phone. The bus was stopped a half block from our house. The students on the bus had to appear in court, and we were coached ahead of time to say that the driver had not been drinking (he was the band conductor, who was filling in for the regular bus driver that day). When we came to give our testimony, we went to a door in the courthouse and saw a sign that the Judge was away -- and I never heard anything else about it.
  • I went to AGA in the 60's and can remember the Scullins very well. I eventually transfered to Ednar Karr for Junior High. What a culture shock. I can't remember our band teachers name but do know he drove one of the school bus and killed a student when he ran her over.
  • I attended AGA from the 80s until I graduated in 1992. I still remember the day I graduated. It was a beautiful spring day, and I remember the mild breeze gently blowing through my hair and feet. The fact that I invented "Peednam" was very much in dispute, as it remains so to this day.
  • I went to this school from kindergarten to fourth grade. I'm 45 now so it has been a while. 1st through 3rd grades were great there. 4th though things seemed to change. My 4th grade teacher was cruel and my grade reflected the change. I went from straight A's to F's. I was constantly screamed at, shaken and paddled; by both the teacher and both principals. I loved school until this year and never trusted a teacher again afterwards. I did however have my first love there and lots of great times with friends there also. Though my last year there was horrific, the majority of my time there was great. John Gremillion and John Gardina were my two best friends there. I did, even at that young age, have a lot of female friends. I even remember getting chased through the class over my address book. Like I said, we had some great times. I do remember finding those round musket balls all over the school yard. I used to find them at our Timberlane and Eden Isles houses too. It is still a mystery how one looses track of so many friends over the years. I lived in 6 different states over my short life and visited 17 but you always remember where you came from.
  • I went to AGA from 1973-75 to first grade. I remember wearing black dress pants, white shirt and tie, with a red sweater. I still have the patch. My dad was in the navy during the Vietnam War and was stationed in New Orleans.
  • I am thankful for my education from AGA. My Mom and Dad sacrificed to send me there; so I could get a great education. I played many hours in the trees by the swings and pretended it was a castle. Seems I spent so much of my life there, it was a safe place. I look back on my youth with gratidude. I left there in the 8th grade 1975 Denise Ax Daniels
  • I had Ms. Viola Walton my first year at AGA. She wore very tight skirts that went just below her knees like from the 1940's and had 1940's hair, too. Many of the teachers dressed in an odd retro way, Mormonesque.. Ms. Viola's skirts were so tight that when she rushed down the aisles between the desks to shake the shit out of you she really did a lot of arm slinging in order to propel herself. Looking back on this (the image is so clear; I am 51) it is really funny. At age 9, it was not. This school was a source of severe PTSD for me, well into my 30's. I visited the campus just as it was being demolished for the subdivision, around ? 1998. I was visiting from Atlanta and had no idea the school had closed. I parke my car in a shady area on General Myers while my baby son slept in the back seat. To see the main building reduced to rubble...just the black and white tiles of the front offices still there, and the cinder block buildings where the less intelligent children were segregated in a pile of rubble.. It was satisfying and cathartic. I will say that the education I obtained there as I attended grades 4 thru 8 was superior, but at the cost of my self-esteem, so not worth it.
  • Are you Chris Calhoun?
  • what year was the bus accident? I think that was the day I got on the wrong bus.... I only went there for pre-k and i remember the bullet holes and names carved in the trees. I used to love our walks on the levee.
  • My parents moved me from Eisenhower to Aurora Gardens in 1975 - I Attended AGA from 75 - 77. As a kid I remember really enjoying the school. Great teachers and kids. Wish to reconnect with my classmates!
  • I was there from 77 to 1980.. It was a great school. Learned a lot and met many people.. Wonder wat happened to them. Hope all r well
  • I went from 1984-1993. It was an awesome school where I made memories that are still fresh in my mind. I remember everybody saying the grounds were haunted. We had gym "lock-ins" where we'd spend the night in the "big" gym and have pizza. None of us would sleep 'cause we were too scared of the ghosts of British soldiers killed in the war in 1815. They were said to roam the grounds in perpetuity (I believed it). At the time there was no more high school, so that building was virtually abandoned; except, we'd sometimes have computer class with Mrs. Bergeron there. Commodore computers were the shit! And does anyone remember that little aluminum projector building, that was right next to the former high school part? We'd walk single-file to this building once a year to watch a movie on the projector. I loved playing in the old trees. There was one tree that had a huge hole in it, and we'd always pretend that hole was a salad bowl when we'd play house. One day, the top of that tree was making a scary sound and it turned out there was a giant limb that was loose. The playground equipment was so rusted and dangerous, but we all made do anyway. The ditch (which is really a trench and is still visible on Google Earth) was always off limits to us, because it was said there were snakes in there. There weren't really any snakes, but these little onions used to grow in that ditch. I do remember that old printing building, and I remember those two mounds that turned out to be magazines, also left over from the war. They were pretty much on the PAC side of the property. But that old building had broken windows and was always quiet and deserted-looking (and downright creepy). When I was at AGA as a child, we used the little gym, and then we used the big gym. I used to live right up the street from there, and the last time I drove by, there was nothing but rubble on the ground. I was so heart-broken. It was a damn fine school. I never heard of any abuse cases during my time there, but Mr. Keller (Mista Kayyyy!!!) was pretty rough on us. Something happened to him at the end of my 7th grade and he never came back. It was actually kind of sad. He was always pushing his comic books and baseball cards on us (Franks Comic Shop on Lapalco). A big thing for us at the time was going to Skate Country off Terry Pkwy (I think it's still there), and also that little arcade and go-kart place next to it. God, there was nothing like the 80's.
  • Was your uncle by any chance a Mr. Barry? I remember him. He was the band director until Mr. Frechou came.
  • Was his last name Randall?
  • I went to AGA from 1973-1978. I really did get a great education there. I liked all my teachers except two. Ms. Gritten (sp?) was my pre-k teacher. She was the first round of abuse I received at AGA. I went home one day with broken skin and mild cuts in my arms from her fingernails, the result of being shaken so hard in the hallway. I loved my kindergarten teachers, Ms. Chisholm and Ms. Warner. First grade, I had Ms. King (loved her). Second grade was Ms. Pugh, third grade; Ms. Ackland. Then hell was unleashed on me in the 1977-78 4th grade school year when I got Ms. Viola Walton. In retrospect, she was just an absolutely abusive, sick, hateful soul who had no business being around children. If her actions took place today, she would likely have ended up in court, perhaps jail. The physical and verbal abuse in her class was unimaginable by today's standards. Besides bitch Walton, I do have some good memories of the place. People I liked... Coach Stanley, Ms. Ducum (sp?) in the front office, and going to Art class in one of the front buildings on the left. It really was a beautiful campus. From 1973 to 1977, I really enjoyed the place, but the 77-78 school year was the worst teacher experience through all the rest of my education and college.
  • I went there in the 60s and 70s. I remember the school bus accident and Mr. Walton our band director. He did seem to be crushed by the event. I also rember the Skullins. They were very serious about disipline! I also remember a very strange event that some of you might remember as well. One day they brought all the kids into the dining hall and fed us "Champale" in little paper Dixie cups. At the time it seemed strange and now looking back on it I can see no reason to run a "taste testing" on a product like thiis on 5th and 6th graders? I don't remember any ill effects from the liquid we drank, but i will always wonder what was really in those cups they gave us.
  • I attended from K through 4th grade in the early 60's. I remember Mr Walton as band director...I also remember Ms. Viola Walton..She was pretty strict. I remember the Scullins and also Mrs. Dockum in the front office. I'm grateful for the strong curriculum and the Mae Carden learning system...My parents also sacrificed so I could go there, rather than a public school.
  • I knew your uncle as a student there. He was a kind gentle human being with a wonderful sense of ethic and moral. I heard about this tragedy and know this had to be a pure and simple accident.
  • I attended AGA from 1968-1975 for K-6th. The education could be quite strict by today's standards, and I do remember Miss Viola Walton as being particularly strict. I do remember being shaken vigorously in my desk a number of times, for misbehavior. I also remember diagraming sentences in kindergarten, and learning phonetics through the use of Carden "controls", deconstructing a word into basic phonic parts, using diacritical marks. This early education effectively shaped my brain. I sometimes think my own children might benefit by some of the educational approaches used in the old days. When I first began, there was a dress code but not a uniform. While I was there a school uniform was instituted, dark slacks and white shirt, don't remember a tie. I do seem to remember the red sweaters... Eye tests in the library. Hardy boys. Field trips to the planetarium. Evel Knievel lunch box.
  • I attended AGA from 1970-77 when I moved on to Jesuit. I visited the Chalmette Battlefield for the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans and told the park rangers that I had gone to grade school where the westbank part of the battle has taken place- which was a resounding British victory by the way. They were astounded because by that time any traces were long gone. I had to show them on a map where AGA was located so that they could picture where the fortifications were. I have wonderful memories of that place.
  • I love my memories from there too!
  • The family sold it and bought a dairy farm in McMinville TN
  • It was not owned by a Catholic church. The owners of the school moved to McMinville TN and started a dairy farm, and now a school teaching the same method to the mountain kids and poor; free of charge. As for child abuse, not sure what you are talking about I went there from nursery to 8th grade; I am 52 now, and was never abused, and believe me I was a wild student. The warehouse that you speak of was a printing building, it moved to Mcminville as well, The Maturiion is printed to this day. The person staying there was keeping an eye on the equipment. I love the story though; and it would make a great fiction, you should think about it, or with your signed permission I will use it in my book about New Orleans. Take care
  • The school is opened back up in McMinnvelle TN, it is free to the mountain kids. I know exactly who you are talking about getting in your face with WOW, breath.
  • Funny how we see things different when we get older that happened when we were kids. It was a little girl that was killed. As for the driver; he was my uncle and I never saw him drink, ever; so I find it strange you would need such coaching. It was a sad day; no matter how it is remembered.
  • Yes he was my uncle, and he was crushed forever over it. He had people come up to him and say horried things. It was an accident, she ran back under the bus after she was suppose to be in her yard. Not sure why she came back into the street. We were all heart broke for her , her family, and my uncle. He passed away this year (2014)
  • I ma older then you, so we probly never crossed paths; I was an Ax then. Funny I was a wild kid and ver was paddled; who was your teacher!? Ms. Ostricker was my 4th grade teacher and I adored her.
  • Mrs. Walton... I hated her too... She was the worst teacher I have ever had... From straight A's to D's and F's...
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This article was last modified 14 years ago