Beaumont High School, St. Louis MO | Nearby Businesses

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3836 Natural Bridge Ave
St. Louis, MO 63107
(314) 533-2410

Vashon High School is a public high school located in St. Louis, Missouri that is part of the St. Louis Public Schools. When it opened in 1927, it was the second high school for black students in St. Louis. Since 1934, the school has won 14 state basketball championships – eight as a member of the Missouri State High School Activities Association and six as a member of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association.HistoryDesigned by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on September 11, 1927, and it was named in honor of two African-American educators: George Boyer Vashon, the first black graduate of Oberlin College, and his son, John Boyer Vashon. Located at 3026 Laclede Avenue, construction costs were slightly less than $1.2 million. Vashon was the second high school built for black students in the St. Louis Public Schools, after Sumner High School.While at the Laclede Avenue location, Vashon's boys basketball program won six state titles as part of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association, in 1935, 1936, 1944, 1947, 1948, and 1949. Vashon was barred from joining the Missouri State High School Activities Association until 1949, and between 1949 and 1954, it was prohibited from participating in both MNIAA tournaments and MSHSAA state tournaments.In June 1963, the school relocated to the Hadley Vocational-Technical High School building at 3405 Bell Avenue, and the original building became part of Harris–Stowe State University. The Bell Avenue building had been constructed in the early 1930s with large shop classrooms that were subsequently divided into classrooms and offices with partition walls, causing noise problems throughout the school. Its architectural design also strongly resembled a factory, and according to a local newspaper report, "the main school building, gym and auditorium make one think the people inside might be manufacturing cars or widgets." The move was accompanied by protests in the local community and a student march against the transfer.

Sumner High School, also known as Charles H. Sumner High School, is a St. Louis public high school that was the first high school for African-American students west of the Mississippi River. Together with Vashon High School, Sumner was one of only two segregated public high schools in St. Louis City for African-American students. Established in 1875 only after extensive lobbying by some of St. Louis' African-American residents, Sumner moved to its current location in 1908.PopulationAs of the 2012–13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 576 students and 32 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 18

Central Visual and Performing Arts High School is a magnet high school in St. Louis, Missouri, part of the St. Louis Public Schools. Founded in 1853, Central is the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi River, although it has moved several times and merged with a magnet school in 1984. Central VPA specializes in the arts, with students taking courses in three art majors, including visual art, musical art, and performing art, with focuses on ceramics, drawing and painting, photography, instrumental music, vocal music, dance, and theater.HistoryEstablishment and early moves: 1853–1893In late 1852, the Board of Education of the St. Louis Public Schools ordered the organization and opening of a high school to serve the city population. The Board located the school within Benton School, a primary school then located on 6th Street between St. Charles and Locust streets, and on February 7, 1853, 70 students were admitted after an entrance examination. Its first principal was Jeremiah D. Low. Soon after its opening, the Board ordered construction on a dedicated building for the high school, then known simply as St. Louis High School.Designed by William Rumbold, the new building was built in 1855 at a cost of $50,000 at the corner of Olive and 15th streets. The building had three full stories and a basement, nine classrooms, a 700-seat auditorium, and 16 smaller rooms used as libraries and wardrobes. It initially was built with a capacity of slightly less than 500 students. By 1859, course requirements for entrance had been developed, and two courses of study (general or classical) were available to students.