It was not until after the Civil War that public education became accessible to more people in Shreveport and Bossier. Less than 1,500 students attended public schools locally, with the more wealthy folks sending their sons to boarding schools. After Shreveport fell to Union forces, several gender-specific public schools opened their doors, with the first three all-black schools taking root at the same time. Several of these smaller schools later merged, but the schools remained segregated. After World War I, a new effort to expand the school system took place in Shreveport, with the opening of Byrd High, Creswell Elementary, Cedar Grove Public School, and Broadmoor Elementary, which is currently known as A. C. Steere Elementary. In Bossier, the population surged from 775 people in 1910 to over 5,000 citizens by 1940, leading to the building of several schools, including Bossier High School in 1917 (the current location of Bossier Elementary on Traffic Street).
Higher education came to the area when Centenary College moved from Jackson, Louisiana, to Shreveport in 1908. It holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating chartered private college west of the Mississippi, created by merging a struggling Centenary College in Mississippi with the Methodist Episcopal Church’s College of Louisiana in 1825. During the Civil War, the all-male student body left to join the Confederate Army, leaving the college to shut its doors until 1866. Needless to say, many young men never returned from that war to complete their studies. Women were finally admitted to classes in 1890; it would take another 10 years to grant them degrees. While this institution has had its share of booms and busts, it continues to be a beacon of higher learning in the area. Over the years, other schools of higher education have entered the area, each bringing its own unique set of offerings.
With integration came significant shifts in public education in Shreveport and Bossier. It would not be honest, historically, to say the area schools embraced the concept immediately. Even when the courts forced the blending of African American and white schools, the tendency was to run the single school as two separate entities housed within the same structure. It would take many years to move toward actual integration. Meanwhile, new private schools emerged, providing families an opportunity to remove their children from the chaos of the situation. Amazingly, throughout the process, both parish school districts committed themselves to improving the quality of public education for all students, leading to the formation of magnet schools, each with a specialized curriculum. In fact, it was the formation of such schools that actually lessened the tensions brought about through integration. As a result, several of the public magnet schools in Shreveport and Bossier have gained national recognition for excellence, with South Highland Elementary and Caddo Magnet High School continually receiving accolades.
The area is currently experimenting with turning underperforming educational institutions into charter schools. The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has fashioned curriculum designed to help at-risk children and youth succeed both academically and socially. These schools have not operated long enough to measure their effectiveness, but the fact that something is being done suggests a positive sign.
With the increased reliance on technology, both public and private schools have responded to the need to teach computer and Internet competency to persons of all ages. Further, the University of Phoenix just opened an office at the Louisiana Boardwalk, suggesting that distance learning has come to town to stay. The extent to which new technologies challenge more traditional forms of education has yet to be seen, but Shreveport and Bossier are ready to train citizens for the 21st century.