New documentary about America’s oldest principal, Mr. Wayne Warner

CHALMETTE, La. ( WGNO ) — He’s America’s oldest and longest-serving high school principal, 80-year old Wayne Warner. He’s been the boss over at Chalmette High School for decades and is now recovering after a brutal attack. His incredible story is now being told in a new documentary.

Since 1973, Wayne Warner has been leading Chalmette High School as principal.

“My story is their story and their lives. I just happen to have been an itty bitty part of it,” he said.

Throughout the years he’s lived a great story, one that is now a WLAE-TV documentary called, “The Warner Way: The 50 Year Legacy of Principal Wayne Warner.”

“I keep telling them there’s no story there, but they made a documentary,” Warner said.

The documentary shows his leadership through Vietnam, desegregation, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina.

“We were bound in by the water that flooded St. Bernard Parish,” he said.

Earlier this year, Warner faced another hardship, when he says he was brutally attacked in his neighborhood on Palmetto Street by a man who was knocking over trash cans and scouring through mail boxes.

“The only thing I said to him, was can I help you? When I said that, he got angrier and punched me in the chest. I fell backwards, and I broke my hip and elbow,” Warner said.

Warner went on to say, “I hope my life doesn’t come down to that one incident.”

“Legacy is a strong word, and I don’t know if I have a legacy,” he said.

He may not know what his legacy is yet, but he certainly has a history.

The documentary premieres on WLAE-TV on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

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