Henry Mayfield

The late Henry Mayfield, a native of Slidell and later a resident of Covington for many years, was a well-known figure in the St. Tammany educational field. He also had a large collection of old photographs and postcards from early St. Tammany history. 

The following biographical information is reprinted from the website of the Henry L. Mayfield Elementary School. The school opened for classes on March 27, 2012, with the official ribbon cutting ceremony on March 30, 2012.

Henry L. Mayfield

Growing up in Slidell, Henry L. Mayfield was known as "Peter" or "Pete". Professionally, however, he always used Henry L. Mayfield. He was a well-known academic leader in the parish. He began his career in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System in July, 1926, serving as a social studies teacher and basketball coach at a school in Madisonville for one year and as principal of a school in Waldheim for four years and at Slidell Grammar School for four years. 

He was appointed the System’s first instructional supervisor in the Central Office in January, 1935. He served as a Supervisor of Instruction for 31 years. Mr. Mayfield served as Assistant Superintendent from April, 1965, until his retirement in June, 1968. 

Mr. Mayfield also taught at Tulane University for more than ten years. He was known as a “behind the scenes” leader whose expertise, dedication, and broad range of work helped make the St. Tammany System a leading school system.

At the 2012 ribbon cutting ceremony for the school named in his honor, Superintendent W. L. “Trey” Folse, III  commended former Assistant Superintendent Mayfield as a dedicated academic leader for the School System, serving in many capacities over his career, helping to build the School System into what it is today.

Adele Mayfield Davenport and Henry L. Mayfield, Jr., spoke about their father’s passion for education and his work in bringing parents, children, and educators together, with his ground-breaking work recognized throughout the state. 

Student Alex Allen read Henry Mayfield’s biography, offering an overview of his career, which included beginning as a teacher at Madisonville in 1927, serving as a teacher and principal at Waldheim, and then principal of Slidell Grammar School, the largest school in the parish at that time.

 He became the first instructional supervisor with the Central Office in 1935, continued his own professional education, and was named Assistant Superintendent in 1964. He retired from the School System in 1968, but served as Executive Director for the St. Tammany Council on Aging for three years after that.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new 38-classroom Henry Mayfield Elementary School west of Slidell were held on Monday, September 28, 2009.

The name for the school was proposed by Superintendent Gayle Sloan in August of 2004, following a request made by several retired educators that the Board consider naming a building to honor Henry L. Mayfield. 

Before his retirement, Mr. Mayfield served with three Superintendents.  Mr. Mayfield also taught at Tulane University for more than ten years.  He died in 1992 at the age of 88.

According to former colleague Henri Ferrer, Mayfield worked as a “behind the scenes” leader whose expertise, dedication, and broad range of work helped make the St. Tammany System a leading school system.  Mr. Ferrer noted that Mr. Mayfield was recognized throughout Louisiana for his work in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System and in the field of education.  He was a frequent speaker at education conferences.

“He could have worked in any university or school system in the country, but Henry opted to stay in St. Tammany,” said Mr. Ferrer.      

Above is an article I wrote about him in 1985. Click on the image to make it larger.