Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts

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**Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts**

Image:Lsmsa-crest.jpg
City	Natchitoches, LA
Year Opened	1983
Executive Director	Dr. Pat Widhalm
Academic Director	Dr. Jim Findley
Residential Director	Ms. Emily Shumate
Type	Public Residential
Grades	11 & 12
Enrollment	about 425
Mascot	Eagles
Colors	Blue and Gold
Newspaper	Renaissance
Website	www.lsmsa.edu

The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) is a two-year, public residential high school located in Natchitoches, Louisiana on the campus of Northwestern State University. It is a member of the NCSSSMST. LSMSA, the brainchild of Republican Governor Dave Treen, was the second state-supported residential school of its kind - the only other being the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. The school was founded in the early 1980s with the first class enrolling as juniors in 1983 and graduating in 1985.

Academically, the school is similar to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Studies focus on mathematics, science, and the humanities. Unlike other math and science high schools, it has an arts program, with instruction in music, theater, visual art, and dance. Their pre-professional dance company is called Impulse. Impulse travels across the state performing and also holds its own concert in the spring.

As LSMSA recruits students from all of Louisiana, it can be described as a statewide magnet school. Prospective students apply during the fall of their sophomore year. Applicants submit application forms, grade transcripts, SAT or ACT results, and three letters of recommendation. Applicants to the arts curriculum also submit a portfolio of artwork or audition. Also, a small number of students in their junior year for may apply for admission for their senior year only.

Students who attend LSMSA live in dormitories away from their families, much like college students. The dormitories are single-sex; girls in Caddo Hall and boys in Prudhomme Hall. Each dormitory is separated into 6 wings, with each wing housing 30 to 40 students and run by a student life advisor or an SLA. Intervisitation between dormitories is not allowed: students may enter only the lobby and common areas (or be escorted by an SLA) of the opposite-sex dorm.

Students must agree to the following honor code pledge:

As a student of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, I understand that I belong to an institution dedicated to the pursuit of learning. Thus, I promise to uphold the Honor Code that safeguards this pursuit. I accept my personal duty to promote an honorable attitude in my academic life by refraining from lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarizing, or vandalizing.

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