Newellton, Louisiana
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town located in northern Tensas Parish, Louisiana (tehn-SAW). The population was 1,482 at the 2000 census. It is just west of the Mississippi River.
Newellton High School
Newellton High School, which serves grades pre-kindergarten-12, had only 74 students at the close of the 2005-2006 academic year. The Tensas Parish School Board voted by a 4-3 margin on May 18, 2006, to keep Newellton High functioning for at least another year. Superintendent Carol Johnson had proposed that the school be closed and that all the Newellton students be bused to St. Joseph, the parish seat. Under Mrs. Johnson's proposal, the high schools students would have attended Davidson High School, which serves only grades 9-12.
Newellton High lost a popular English teacher in the spring of 2006, when William R. "Randy" Achey (born 1952), a native of Virginia, died of heart failure. His memorial service was held in the school gymnasium. Two science teachers have announced their retirements. Mrs. Johnson said that she believes Newellton High School students will suffer academically because of the board's decision. She explained, however, "It's [the decision] probably going to hurt them [the students], but that's what the people wanted and the board decided, so we'll have to work with that."
Newellton High has a relatively new facility, and the board is presumably reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition even though the enrollment numbers may not be sustainable that much longer.
Mrs. Johnson said that the system would start the 2006-20007 school year with teacher replacements on hand, but they likely would be uncertified. Rural school systems will have a particularly difficult time attracting teacher candidates, she said.
Newellton High serves pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The school board earlier, citing declining enrollments, closed Waterproof High School and Lisbon Elementary School, both in the town of Waterproof in the southern part of the parish.
There is a private school, Tensas Academy, located in St. Joseph, which has drawn from the smaller white population of Newellton as well as other areas of the predominantly black parish.
Geography
Newellton is located at (32.072740, -91.239230)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²). 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (12.64%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 1,482 people, 536 households, and 376 families residing in the town. The population density was 752.9/km² (1,960.2/mi²). There were 595 housing units at an average density of 302.3/km² (787.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 34.41% White, 64.71% African American, 0.07% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96% of the population.There were 536 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.5% were married couples living together, 30.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 80.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $17,457, and the median income for a family was $21,029. Males had a median income of $23,333 versus $14,519 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,365. About 33.8% of families and 38.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.9% of those under age 18 and 31.9% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060520/NEWS01/605200312/1002
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