Orleans Parish School Board Urged To
Maintain McDonogh 35 Senior High School
As A Direct Run School
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
December 17, 2018 
Contact: Gertrude A. Ivory 
mcdonogh35alumniassociation@yahoo.com 
504-723-3541 
 
NEW ORLEANS, LA – The McDonogh 35 Senior High School Alumni Association Board of
Directors strongly urges the Orleans Parish School Board and Superintendent Henderson Lewis
to maintain McDonogh 35 Senior High School as a district direct-run school. In addition, the
Alumni Association Board further demands stability in school leadership and faculty as well as
the necessary supports and financial resources in order to insure student success.
“McDonogh 35 is one of the city’s most historic institutions with a solid track record of
producing successful alumni for over a century”, said Gertrude Ivory, President of the
McDonogh 35 Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ivory further stated, “We have an
opportunity to restore McDonogh 35 to the national prominence it deserves. The McDonogh 35
Alumni Association Board of Directors looks forward to a continued partnership with the
Orleans Parish School Board in this important effort.”
Since its inception, the McDonogh 35 Alumni Association ​has worked to advance the legacy of
McDonogh 35 Senior High School as an institution of academic excellence and cultural pride by
fostering alumni involvement through advocacy and volunteerism, offering financial support and
lifelong commitment to the student body and to the school, and promoting lasting relationships
among its graduates. The Board of Directors of the McDonogh 35 Alumni Association feels the
students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni will be best served as an Orleans Parish School Board
direct-run school, and strongly urges the Orleans Parish School Board and Superintendent
Henderson Lewis to maintain the institution’s current governance model – direct oversight and
management by the local, constitutionally-mandated, and democratically-elected school board.  
McDonogh 35 was founded in 1917 as the first African American high school in Orleans
Parish. It has continuously operated for 101 years and has been recognized as a National Blue
Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. McDonogh 35 has
produced many prominent alumni including: Dr. Mack J. Spears; Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial;
Judge Israel Augustine; Judge Joan Bernard Armstrong; Reverend A.L. Davis; and two time
NFL Superbowl Champion Neil Smith ​along with a host of others serving in leadership roles at
the local, state, and national levels.
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