Jefferson Parish Schools hosted a school dedication ceremony for Emmett Gilbert School of Excellence at Ford on September 21, 2022.  Superintendent Dr. James Gray, School Board members, family members of Emmett Gilbert, and local officials were onsite to celebrate the renaming of Henry Ford Middle School to Emmett Gilbert School of Excellence. 

The PK-8 school is named after Emmett Gilbert, who was an educator in Jefferson Parish for 42 years. He graduated from Lincoln High and Southern University before beginning his teaching career in 1970 at Livaudais Junior High. He then taught Adult Education and educated youth at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility before serving as a Dean and Assistant Principal at Marrero Middle. He next served as the principal at Ruppel Elementary and John Martyn Alternative School. Gilbert was active in his church and received the Martin Luther King Task Force Religious Award, the Unsung Hero Award from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc and countless other awards. Gilbert was a dedicated father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and he lived his life committed to being a man of integrity.