Who We Are
History of EA
History of EAHS
The Ascension Parish School Board dedicated East Ascension High School in the fall of 1966. East Ascension High School, or simply EA as it is known to locals, served as the only high school on the East Bank of the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish for twelve years. By 2024, this same geographic area will host four high schools, including three of the eight largest high schools in Louisiana, all serving one of the fastest growing communities in the United States of America. But, from 1966 to 1978, there was only EA.
The once sleepy, rural parish southeast of Baton Rouge has boomed into a bustling suburban destination with amenities most only associated with larger cities. When East Ascension High School opened, it replaced a patchwork system of smaller community-based schools, hence the unifying theme of the school’s name. Though time and growth have long since rendered impossible, the idea of a single high school for the area, the name, and the sense of community it was meant to foster, remain.
In its first 40 years, EA gave birth to two other schools: That School Across The Airline in 1978 and Dutchtown in 2002. In 2024, EA will again contribute as a third new high school in Prairieville opens its doors. In 2026, EA will celebrate 60 years of tradition, service, and excellence. While these specific years have meaning, it is the day-to-day hum of activity in the center of Gonzales at Worthey and Irma that gives the over 100-year-old town its heartbeat. The unabashed optimism of youth springs eternal here as the next generation of our community drives to school on their own for the first time, cheers on its Spartans down Burnside no matter the score, and laughs and cries as they say goodbye to it all after four short years. In Gonzales, high school is an experience, not a requirement.
Though it was born in a time of great political and social upheaval, EA has always served as a safe harbor of stability for the young people of Ascension Parish. Tradition is the banner we most proudly wave. That tradition is found on a Friday in the fall on a campus shrouded in camouflage; students who start their day before the sun rises “hunting gators” and end it after the sun sets celebrating victory over the Gators. It is found on a Thursday evening on Worthey or Burnside or Cornerview in a Homecoming parade full of high school kids waving and throwing candy to the same little kids they used to be. And it is found on a warm May morning, usually sunny but always bright, when hundreds of Spartan Seniors signify the metaphorical leap into adult life with a literal Pond Jump.
Such tradition needs guardians - leaders who see the value of the miracle over the mundane, OUR pep rallies over most pep rallies, Gator Week over just a rivalry, Pond Jump over a water balloon fight. Some have been coaches, gruff men with big hearts and nicknames like “Shank” and “Butch” who succeeded on the court before acceding to the highest position on campus. Others made their name in the classroom, a list that reads like a litany of local surnames: Gautreau, Bacala, Braud, Bourgeois. Today, the latest guardian of our tradition is the proud daughter of a graduate of EA’s first class, an accomplished student and athlete who later came home and became one of our most successful football coaches. All of these guardians have helped EA to stand strong as a proud pillar of tradition and community spirit to be leaned on in times of trouble. No matter how far away our graduates move from Gonzales, an unshakable bond of support rings true: “Once a Spartan, Always a Spartan!"
WE ARE HOME OF THE MIGHTY SPARTANS.
Legacy of Leadership
Alma Mater
East Ascension High School
Alma Mater
In the sixth year of the Sixties,
East Ascension High began anew.
Proudly waves it unfurled banner,
Rich in yellow and in royal blue.
How the memories seem to linger,
Priceless as the sunlit morning's dew.
Let's all hail the Mighty Spartan,
Emblem of a school so dear and true.
Though the years press ever onward,
Our Alma Mater we love you!
Fight Song
