Bush Elementary School

Historical Note

The Bush Elementary School was a private, non-sectarian school serving the African American community in the Uptown section of New Orleans, Louisiana. The school was founded by Ethel Boyd Bush in 1939. Bush served as principal of the school for many years, and her husband, Herman P. Bush, served as director.

Ethel Boyd Bush (1911-1990) was born in Bayou Goula, Louisiana, and lived in New Orleans for 64 years. She attended Valena C. Jones Normal School and McDonogh 35 Senior High School before attended Southern University in Baton Rouge and Columbia University in New York. Bush started her teaching career in rural Louisiana schools in Jackson Parish and Plaquemines Parish. She returned to New Orleans and "saw the need of a Kindergarten for the pre-school age children" of the city. She canvassed her neighborhood and enrolled 22 students when the school first opened on September 5, 1939. The school was originally based out of Bush's home at 2618 Upperline Street, serving kindergarten and primary classes. The first graduation exercises were held for nine students at Gilbert Academy on St. Charles Avenue on June 3, 1940.

The school continued to grow, and in 1944, the school moved to 3600 Loyola Avenue with an expanded student and faculty. In 1950, the school incorporated as a non-profit with a board of directors, and was sponsored by St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church. In 1953, the school became a K-6 state-recognized school, teaching kindergarten through sixth grade. In October 1954, a building was purchased at 3706 South Liberty Street for a permanent location and the school relocated in April 1955.

Citation:

Author: Christopher Harter

Abstract:

The Hi-Fli, 1957 and 1959 editions

Obituary. Ethel Boyd Bush. The Times-Picayune (August 22, 1990)

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