On the site of TJES in 1953, A.G. Richardson High School opened its doors as the county’s high school for African-American students. In 1960, Z.C. Morton Elementary School opened on the same campus, providing primary education for Louisa’s youngest African-American students. After integration, the buildings were used together as Louisa Intermediate School, and later were connected to become the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School that was destroyed by the 2011 earthquake. Our new school opened in 2014, and we continue to grow into our beautiful space as a school, a staff, and a community.