Perhaps the earliest attempt at organized schooling came from Petit de Grat in 1810 when the first school was built at Alderney Point on what later became the property of Bernard David. Mr. Latimer, a Jerseyman from the Channel Islands, was the first teacher.
In 1818 a second school was located at the intersection of Alderney Point, Petit de Grat, and Little Anse. The teachers there were Mr. Begin and Maria Grimes.
Two more schools came into being. One was on the south side across from the 1818 building; the other was on the mainland side on the site now occupied by the old parish hall. It must be remembered that the bridge linking the two areas of the community did not exist, and in fact, it was 1901 before it was constructed under the supervision of Moses Dorey.
Perhaps this was why the schools were amalgamated in 1927 on the intersection plot under the principalship of Georges Etienne. It should be noted that schools at that time were run by a secretary and a board of trustees.
A new school was built in 1964 and was designated Acadian in 1985 until a decade later when students were relocated to the former Isle Madame District High School in Arichat.
Some of the early teachers at Petit de Grat included William Mauger of Cap LaRonde, who resided with Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Samson at Alderney Point. He earned $60 per year and his room and board was credited to the taxation of the host family.
J. Scott Nelson of Swedish extraction from Black River taught for many years in Louisdale and even represented that area on municipal council.
Georges Etienne from D’Escousse boarded with Fred and Melita Boudreau, and he married Marie LaVache, another teacher.
Another teacher, Joseph Daigle of Mulgrave, married the daughter of Edward Fortune.
Other teachers included: Cyrie Nelson; Adelard Chaisson from Chéticamp; Eugene Boucher of Cap Auguet; Euina Bona, Alderney Point; Gertie Power, Arichat; Anna Boudreau, Arichat; and Mary LeBlanc, West Arichat.
It would appear that at Petit de Grat, the earliest school reports were recorded in 1849 and 1850 although there is ample evidence of school teaching as early as 1810 in the area. The 1849 and 1850 reports were submitted to Halifax by James Campbell, another example of Anglophones teaching in Acadian communities, a recurring problem for Acadian education in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Mr. Campbell made his way to Petit de Grat by way of the Arichat Academy, but when that school faced closure, he and many of his colleagues sought employment in neighbouring communities.
In a climate of expanding educational opportunities, Petit de Grat began a public school in 1840.