Beau Chene High School


Beau Chêne High School is a public secondary school located in southeastern St. Landry Parish between the communities of Grand Coteau and Arnaudville in the state of Louisiana. The school was founded in 1991 when Sunset, Leonville, and Arnaudville High Schools were consolidated to form one centralized high school. The school serves the communities of Arnaudville, Cankton, Grand Coteau, Leonville, and Sunset. It is located at 7076 Highway 93, Arnaudville, Louisiana. Beau Chene High School has been cited for demonstrating inclusion among all their students.
Beau Chêne is accredited by the State of Louisiana's Department of Education.

History

Beau Chêne High School is the result of consolidating the public schools in St. Landry Parish. Consolidation in St. Landry Parish began as a result of a federal lawsuit filed in 1965. The lawsuit is entitled Monteilh, et al. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, et al., No. Civ. 10912,. The plaintiffs in Monteilh, et al. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, et al., alleged that on or about September 7, 1964, their application for admission to Palmetto High School, Palmetto, Louisiana, were denied because of their race. Monteilh, et al. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, et al. lasted fifty-one years. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty dismissed the fifty-one year old case on August 30, 2016. The previous federal judge assigned Monteilh, U.S. District Judge Tucker L. Melancon, in Graham v. Evangeline Parish School Board, was cautioned in an unpublished opinion by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit "to limit itself to traditional judicial decision making rather than school administration, and to refrain from day-to-day management of its decrees." The court also expressed their concern in regard to Judge Melancon being personally involved in the case and wrote his actions were more administrative than judicial. The court wrote one could perceive from the record that Judge Melancon had taken over the independent decision making of the school board. The court was unable to rule on the Graham appeal since the appeal was not a final decision from the district court. Thus, they lacked appellate jurisdiction. Graham v. Evangeline Parish School Board, Case No. 04-30356, pp. 12-14.
In 1986, the St. Landry Parish School Board approved a plan to build three new high schools as part of a plan to consolidate all the high schools in St. Landry Parish. A group of citizens returned to federal court and filed briefs in Monteilh, et al. v. St. Landry Parish School Board, et al., opposing the school board plan to consolidate and build three new schools. The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In their briefs, Monteilh alleged the new high schools the school board planned to build would have created a quasi-racially segregated school system. Monteilh requested school construction be enjoined pending preparation of a new consolidation plan. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the St. Landry Parish School Board met their constitutional obligations in designing its own plan and the court denied Monteilh's request.
Beau Chêne High School was conceived in the early-1980s when the St. Landry Parish School Board began consolidating the parish's small rural high schools to form three large centrally-located high schools. The plan was later approved and implemented, forcing Arnaudville High School, Leonville High School, and Sunset High School to close and merge with each other. In 1989, construction on Beau Chêne began on property in the unincorporated community of Prairie Basse. At the front of the property were—and still are—several large oak trees which inspired the name "Beau Chêne." The name of the school was originally Southeastern High School, keeping with the geographical naming style the St. Landry Parish School Board used to name the other two consolidated high schools. Someone suggested that the school be named "Beau Chêne," which is French for "beautiful oak." The St. Landry Parish School Board approved naming the school Beau Chene High School as the name for the Southeast Consolidated High School on Thursday, May 17, 1990. Classes commenced at Beau Chêne on August 19, 1991. The official dedication of Beau Chene High School was on Friday, September 6, 1991.

Academics

Beau Chêne High School offers a wide variety of courses for its students. In keeping with its missions to "provide the individual with rich and varied experiences appropriate to meet his present and future needs" and to "develop in the student an appreciation of literature, art, music and the beauty of nature," Beau Chêne offers classes in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, Spanish language arts, French language arts, agricultural science, business, family and consumer science, and computer science. Upperclassmen may opt to take trade and vocational educational courses at the Washington Career and Technical Center.
Students are required to complete four units of English, three units of mathematics, three units of science, three units of social studies, one-and-one-half units of physical education, and one-half unit of health. Students wanting to attend college follow a college preparatory curriculum which follows Louisiana's TOPS scholarship requirements, which includes four units of English, four units of mathematics, four units of science, four units of social studies, two units of a foreign language, one unit of fine arts, and a half-credit in a technology class.

Athletics and extracurricular activities

Beau Chêne High School is classified by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association as a Class 4-A school and competes in that division's District 5. Beau Chêne offers its students the following sports: Football Boys, Basketball Boys, Basketball Girls, Baseball Boys, Softball Girls, Volleyball Girls, Cross Country Boys, Cross Country Girls, Soccer Boys, Soccer Girls, Track & Field Boys, Track & Field Girls, Power Lifting Boys, Power Lifting Girls, Football Boys, Basketball Boys, Basketball Girls, Baseball Boys, Softball Girls, Volleyball Girls, Cross Country Boys, Cross Country Girls, and Soccer Boys. The school also offers cheerleading, dancing, and color guard.
Beau Chêne owns three state championships. Those are the 1993 Class 2-A Powerlifting Championship, the 1995 Class 4-A Girls' Cross-Country Championship, and the 2005 Class 4-A Boys' Track and Field Championship. The boys' soccer program also has 2 State Runner up finishes in 2013 and in 2018, losing 3-1 to Holy Cross. In addition to these state finishes, The boys' basketball team has a state semi-finals appearances and boys' soccer has seven, including 2 State Runner Ups in 2013 & 2018. The boys soccer program, restarted in 2006/2007, is consistently a top 5 ranked team in Louisiana's Division II soccer rankings each year. The soccer team has won over 225 matches over that 13 years span. In 2015, the team set team records for wins in a season with 27-2-5 record and also set state shut out record with 25 shutouts. Juan Carlos Pilicita Brito broke the state Division II and School record of 54 goals with 55 goals scored in 2014/2015. The soccer program also has over 25 All state players including state MVPs, Juan Carlos Pilicita Brito, State Def MVP Briley Dronet and State Offensive MVP Adrian Eaglin. The team lost in the Division II State title game in 2013 to St Louis Catholic and recently lost to Holy Cross 3-1 in 2018 Division II title game after leading 1-0 with 29 min to play. Beau Chene also lost to Holy Cross in the State Semifinals in 2019 after leading 1-0 in the 80th minute of the game, losing 1-2 when the official added 14 1/2 minutes to the game including a double caution in the 80’ + 10’. The heartbreaking loss in hostile New Orleans let Holy Cross repeat as champions. Boys soccer also has claimed the St Landry Parish boy soccer championship for 9 out of the 13 years they have competed.
Beau Chêne also lays claim to district championships in boys' basketball, boys' soccer, volleyball, cross-country, baseball, softball, and track and field.
In addition to its athletic program, Beau Chêne offers a host of clubs and organizations students can join. Those organizations are 4-H; FFA; Beta Club; National Honor Society; Spanish Club; Fellowship of Christian Athletes; Student Council; Peer Leaders; Academic Talent Search; Upward Bound; Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America; Governor's Program on Abstinence; Future Business Leaders of America; and Beau Chêne Quiz Bowl.
Beau Chêne is renowned in the state of Louisiana for its participation in many of these organizations. The school's FFA, GPA, FCCLA and FBLA chapters are among the most active in the state, and their members often represent Louisiana and compete at their organizations' respective national conferences. Beau Chêne Quiz Bowl is a two-time regional champion and, in 2006, competed at the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament.

Mascot and colors

Beau Chêne's mascot is the gator. The school colors are navy blue, burnt orange, and gray.

Alma mater

The lyrics of Beau Chêne High School's alma mater are as follows:
Come walk by my side through the doors of Beau Chêne High School

And our dear memories we will recall

Gators strong and true—Orange and Blue

We will never forget you.



Come walk by my side down the halls of Beau Chêne High School

As we enjoy our high school days.

Teachers and friends, laughter and fun

One for all, and all for one.



Beau Chêne High, hail to you

Altogether, friends old and new

Beau Chêne High, go big blue

Proudly we honor you.



Come walk by my side out the doors of Beau Chêne High School

Under the spreading live oak trees.

Our old friend until the end

Dear alma mater Beau Chêne High.



When sung, the words "memories" and "until" are truncated to fit the rhythm of the music. In addition, students traditionally shout the words "Go Big Blue" as opposed to merely singing that line.

Fight song

The lyrics of the fight song are as follows:
Stand together, Beau Chêne Gators, we all cheer for you.

Fight on to victory, fame, and glory for the orange and blue.

Like majestic oak trees boldly reaching for the sky,

With pride and honor win it all for Beau Chêne High.



When sung, students traditionally shout "BCH" between the second and third lines of the song.

Principals

Ronnie Daigle,.

J. Larry Stelly,.

Robert Lanclos,.

Anthony Keith James,.
Barbara Roberson,.
Tiffany Etienne,.