Lycee Petion - Haiti Observer Blog

Born a member of the gens de couleur libres, Alexandre Sabes Petion (1770 - 1818) began life between two worlds. It is a dichotomy he would continue, further marking his legacy as an instrumental force behind the struggle for independence of two lands, his own beloved Haiti, and the republic of Gran Colombia.

Alexandre Petion began his career, after an expensive education in France, by joining the fight to force the British out of Saint-Domingue between 1798 and 1799. He would subsequently fight on the side of the mulattos against Toussaint L'Ouverture and the blacks, and was exiled to France when the rebellion ended; he returned soon after with General Leclerc and his assemblage of warships and troops. In 1802, he joined the nationalist force and gave his support to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the future proclaimer of the Haitian Independence and self-declared ruler for life of the newly formed country.

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The Lycée Alexandre Pétion was founded in 1816 by its namesake, Haiti's third president. A high school located in Port-au-Prince, it educated the Haitian ruling class. Government ministers, Parliament members, and many of Haiti's rulers studied there. The school was established to educate the elite class and counted among its former students notable authors as well.

Lycée Pétion maintained its high academic standards for decades, but gradually became eroded by frequent government upheavals, and a stagnant economy as a consequence. For 150 years, the school boasted an excellent French-trained teaching staff. Math and science labs were fully equipped, and when textbooks frayed, or equipment no longer functioned well, it was replaced without hesitation.

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