CHS 1922-1980
When it was first built in 1922, Cecilia High School was by far the most beautiful high school building in the parish.
Built for first to twelfth grades, the school was designed by the New Orleans-based architectural firm of Nolan and Torre and was located where the new Cecilia Junior High stands today. The facade was decorated with beautiful stone ornaments and a stone cornice that completely surrounded the top of the building. Lavishly landscaped grounds of native trees and exotic palms encircled the grand building.
A vestibule was located in the main entrance; its stairs ascended to the second floor. In later years the vestibule and stairs were removed, and the area was converted into the principal's office, a hall, and a locker room. The original building also contained an auditorium (with dressing rooms) that occupied the first and second floor. Later the auditorium was converted into a Home Economics Department on the 1st floor and a library on the 2nd floor; it was the only part of the building that was not three stories.
In 1923 the first graduating class consisted of five graduates.
On October 25, 1980, the original building was destroyed by fire. At the time of the fire, a new high school on a twenty-acre tract was under construction, and the current Cecilia High School school opened for the 1981-1982 school year with 663 students enrolled in ninth to twelfth grades.