Beginning in 1964, East Jefferson was a boys-only school for grades 10 to 11. The graduating class of 1963 was the last coed class for many years. In 1962, a new girls-only high school, Riverdale High School, was opened in Jefferson, LA shifting the 10th & 11th grade EJ girls. Starting in the 1963-64 school year girls-only Riverdale HS had 10th, 11th and 12th grades. By 1970, the East Jefferson attendance swelled to over 2000 boys and forced a two-shift "platoon" system to be implemented. Under the "A.M. & P.M." platoon shifts, the first classes went to school from 7 A.M. until noon, and the second shift went from 1 P.M. to 6 P.M. (the school cafeteria was converted to a library). In 1973, the school board began building a new all-male school near Kenner, called Alfred T. Bonnabel High. Even though it would not be completed until 2 years later, they decided to call the East Jefferson morning shift “Bonnabel” and the afternoon shift “East Jefferson”. The following year, the two shifts flip-flopped. For the third year, the students who had been using the name “Bonnabel” moved into their new buildings, just north of I-10 near Power Blvd. All Jefferson Parish high schools returned to co-ed status in the early 1980s.
Athletics
East Jefferson High athletics competes in the LHSAA.
Championships
Football championships
(1) State Championship: 2013
On December 13, 2013, EJ's varsity football team finished the season 15-0 with a win against the Edna Karr Cougars, 38-28. This was EJ's first state title in school history and the first undefeated record in the regular season. They finished the season 10-0 then won their first playoff game since 1971. They then won the rest of the playoff games and finished the season with a bang by beating Edna Karr, finishing #23 in the nation.
Baseball championships
(3) State Championship: 1971, 1972, 1978
In the 1970s, EJ's baseball team won three state titles, in 1971, 1972, and 1978. In 1971, EJ beat Broadmoor 8-1 to win the 4A title. EJ repeated as 4A state champs in 1972, defeating Neville 3-2. In 1978, EJ won another 4A title, beating West Monroe by a score of 3-1.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (December 2020)
Bunny Matthews: music journalist and cartoonist, best known for his characters Vic and Nat'ly[13]
Mike Miley (class of 1971): athlete known for being a two-sport athlete playing quarterback and shortstop at LSU. Shortstop for the California Angels from 1975 to 1976, until his death in 1976 at the age of twenty-three. Airline Park Playground was renamed in his honor.
Neil Reed (class of 1994): most recognized for his choking incident with coach Bob Knight while attending Indiana University.[14] He was named Louisiana Player of the Year in 1994 and was a two-time state MVP.[8]
