History Of Schools In Aldine ISD

[Firebird65]

Back when boys all wore pants and girls all wore dresses. In those days shorts and tennis shoes on guys were uncool by high school (shorts were aginst the rules too) unless you were playing sports. How times have changed.

Those windows between the two sets of doors went to the library and is where the 600 hall now stands. When I went there they had the class pics for every school year on the wall to the left of the teachers lounge door. Looking at this pic I don't see where any restrooms or offices could have been on the front that were removed for the addition. I think those doors on the left brought you right by the auditorium and the ones on the right went straight to into the 200 and 700 (think that's it) hall. The main office must have been right behind the nurses office or that room on the 700 hall by the 200 hall.

I wish I still had a map of the school. They took it off their website.

Girls were first allowed to wear jeans in 1975. I'll have to take a closer look to see what they wore before then. It didn't occur to me to notice before.

So those were the library windows. Makes sense. The library doesn't have that many books as it is. If they had a wall of windows, they must have had far fewer books as they had no place to put them.

The class pics were still there when I visited last month on the 600 hall.

When do you think they had a map of the school on their website? It may still be possible to see it using the Internet Archive, although if it were an attachment it would not be archived. If you could give me an approximate date (year will do) I can go check.

Finally, you mentioned block scheduling in an earlier post and I saw a reference to it in the 1996-97 yearbook. Can you explain what that was and how it worked? You said you only took four classes a day? Did it alternate like colleges, with some classes being M-W-F and others being Tue-Thu? And lunch was apparently one hour and was for everyone? The yearbook said you could anywhere, as long as it was on campus. When did all this start? 1995-96?

Thanks.

[Firebird65]

Aerial of the school circa 1965:

Aerial of the school circa 1979:

[Firebird65]

Back when boys all wore pants and girls all wore dresses.

LOL! This is the second time you've brought up clothing and soon thereafter I was able to find info for you. According to the 1970-71 Roundup yearbook, girls were allowed to begin wearing pant suits in December 1970. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they were allowed to start wearing jeans in 1975.

[billyf]

Girls were first allowed to wear jeans in 1975. I'll have to take a closer look to see what they wore before then. It didn't occur to me to notice before.

So those were the library windows. Makes sense. The library doesn't have that many books as it is. If they had a wall of windows, they must have had far fewer books as they had no place to put them.

The class pics were still there when I visited last month on the 600 hall.

When do you think they had a map of the school on their website? It may still be possible to see it using the Internet Archive, although if it were an attachment it would not be archived. If you could give me an approximate date (year will do) I can go check.

Finally, you mentioned block scheduling in an earlier post and I saw a reference to it in the 1996-97 yearbook. Can you explain what that was and how it worked? You said you only took four classes a day? Did it alternate like colleges, with some classes being M-W-F and others being Tue-Thu? And lunch was apparently one hour and was for everyone? The yearbook said you could anywhere, as long as it was on campus. When did all this start? 1995-96?

Thanks.

They started the block scheduling during the 95-96 school year and with it came the one lunch period. It was 4, 9 week terms. Each term equaled one semester for that class. So a class like algebra that would be a full year was only a half a year. There were 4 classes per day and the classes were Monday through Friday. There wasn't any alternating days. Each period or block as they called them was about 1:20 minutes long. There was only one lunch block for the whole school. So all 3000 or so students were on lunch at the same time (no 9th grade center yet). There were carts setup through the whole campus where you could buy food and as you said we could roam the campus and eat where we wanted. Some students ate in the cafeteria, some ate in the halls and some even at in the classrooms. I had co-op and went home when lunch started and only had to stay for lunch once because of testing. They split the lunches a couple years later and I think in 2000 they went back to the traditional scheduling.

As for the school map. I saw it on the website in the early 2000s. I want to say 2002 or 2003. It may have been sooner. I don't believe it was an attachment, but can't remember for sure.

A question on the 1965 aerial. What were those buildings with the red roofs that look like houses where the 400 hall was added for?

Also I noticed they added on to the field house from the 1965 aerial and the 1979 one.

[Firebird65]

That block scheduling sounds like one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. Who in the world came up with that?!?

As for those buildings, I'm trying to get an answer. My source says they weren't there when he was there in the early 1960s, but he knows someone who was there in mid-decade and is going to ask. He thought one building might be for cosmetology. That's a good guess I think. Wouldn't surprise me if it was right. I'm thinking the other might be for the air conditioning class, which started at that time. If my source can't get an answer, I also know someone from the class of 1966. I'm oretty sure between the two of us we can find out.

[Firebird65]

I now have a partial answer. The larger building was cosmetology. Still trying to get an answer for the smaller one. My money is on Air Conditioning classes.

[billyf]

It wasn't that bad. I actually liked the block scheduling. You only had to worry about 4 classes per day instead of 6. Now most schools have 7 and even 8 classes a day. The whole reason behind it is you earn more credits in a year. The biggest downfall to the 4X4 block scheduling like Aldine had is students only have classes like Math and English a half a year. So there is a big gap not taking those subjects. In fact I think the pilot program showed a decline in those subjects test scores.

Most schools that do block scheduling now do A days and B days. 4 classes per day, but different classes ever other day. On Fridays they go to all 8 classes for testing, but the classes are shorter. In Cy-Fair where I live now they have 7 periods and no block scheduling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_scheduling

I would think the HVAC class would be in one of the vocational rooms, but there is no telling since it was a newer class at the time.

[Firebird65]

Here is a map of the school from the February 9, 1969, Mustang. I've taken the original map from the paper, which detailed the upcoming additions to the school, and altered it to make a map of the campus the way it was at the time. Then I colored it and enhanced it so that it would be easier to read.

I'm working on the same map with the additions of the lower 300 hall, the 400 hall and the larger cafeteria included. When I finish it, I'll post it. Might be tomorrow before I can get to it.

Do note that in 1969 the office is next to the library on what is now known as the 700 hall. There was an entryway between the library and the office that has now been sealed off.

[Firebird65]

Here is a map of the school as it appeared in the fall of 1970. Additions are in blue.

[Firebird65]

Here is a new and improved map of all of the additions to the school since the current campus opened in 1956:

This map includes the recent addition of the fine arts wing, which I didn't have in the last one.

White = 1960 additions

Blue = 1970 additions

Red = 1973 additions

Yellow = 1978 additions

Green = 1997 additions

Purple = 2010 additions

[Firebird65]

Here is a map of the first three high school buildings, shown on an aerial from March 2011:

Blue = Marrs School (now the Lane School)

Red = Marrs High (now part of Aldine Middle School)

Yellow = Aldine High School I

[billyf]

Here is a new and improved map of all of the additions to the school since the current campus opened in 1956:

Your project looks like it is coming along good. You should send it to the principal of Aldine (and maybe the district) when you're done.

I'm not understanding the entrance where the admin offices where. I thought the entrance went straight into the 200 and 700 halls? With the library being between the 100 and 200 hall. The old admin office is still there and was used as some kind of classroom when I went there. In front of it is the janitorial office where the breakers for much of the school are. Maybe they cut through it for the addition and only half remains. Did they make the entrance they sealed as off part of the library? Could the map be wrong?

Also what is the area where the old band room used for now? In the four years I was there I never went inside that part near the auditorium and inside where the teacher's parking is/was. When I was there the band room was on the far end of the 600 hall. I had technology systems in the classroom back there next to the printing class (had a fight once there too).

Edited May 8, 2011 by billyf

[hbcu]

help me out...why was Acres Home zoned to Aldine ISD and then had kids bused to 3 different high schools within the district? Then you have part zoned to HISD and then the part to Klein for desegregation purposes

Why wasn't Carver kept as a functional high school as it made sense to keep kids there than to transport them all across the district as I remember kids who lived right across the street going to Ike and some to Aldine...

Outside of athletic purposes, which benefited Aldine High instantly, why wasn't Acres Home left alone instead of splitting it up?

[billyf]

help me out...why was Acres Home zoned to Aldine ISD and then had kids bused to 3 different high schools within the district? Then you have part zoned to HISD and then the part to Klein for desegregation purposes

Why wasn't Carver kept as a functional high school as it made sense to keep kids there than to transport them all across the district as I remember kids who lived right across the street going to Ike and some to Aldine...

Outside of athletic purposes, which benefited Aldine High instantly, why wasn't Acres Home left alone instead of splitting it up?

The state shut down the North Houston School district shortly after Aldine ISD was formed in the mid 1930. It split the school district between Klein , Aldine and HISD with Aldine getting most of Acres Homes. Aldine just kept it students at the school closes to their home even after desegregation in 1965.

In the late 70s Aldine ISD and several other Texas schools were sued by the federal government claiming they were segregating its students. Aldine fought, but lost. In the end a plan was devised that no more than 30% of any Aldine school could be African American. So Aldine bused a small amount of its students in Acres Homes to every school in the district. Bethune and two other schools in the Acres Homes area became intermediate schools (5th and 6th grade) and Carver became a magnet school. In the 1980s my elementary school had one bus from Acres Homes which made up 90% of the black students in the school. In my neighborhood when students got in the 5th grade they went to Bethune and then Grantham Middle school from 6th – 8th grade and then Aldine.

The order was lifted in 2000 (I believe), but Aldine continued to bus it's high school students so there would be no sports advantage at one school. A little racist if you ask me.

Now all the schools are zoned more like they should be. In my old neighborhood it is Carroll, Stehlik Intermediate 5th and 6th, Stovall 7th and 8th, then Aldine 9th Grade Center and Aldine SR 10th – 12th. Bethune in now a magnet school along with most of the other schools near it.

I think bussing was one of the dumbest idea's ever. Most kids want to go to the school closest to their home and the parents like it that way too.

Edited May 10, 2011 by billyf

[Firebird65]

The state shut down the North Houston School district shortly after Aldine ISD was formed in the mid 1930. It split the school district between Klein , Aldine and HISD with Aldine getting most of Acres Homes.

That's close, but not quite. The school district in question was the White Oak District (Common School District 26). It was split between Aldine, Houston and Klein in 1937. I've found no reason as to why the school district was split. However, there were lots of consolidations of county-run school districts in the 1930s and 40s.

The North Houston District (Common School District 49) was another separate district to the north of White Oak and west of Aldine that Aldine, Klein and the Fairbanks district split in 1935. As with White Oak, I've never found a reason why it happened, only that it did happen. But I can assure the previous poster it most definitely not for desegregation purposes... certainly not in 1937. Considering the times, I'd imagine (and I'm only wildly speculating here) no one wanted the White Oak district as it consisted of blacks and rather they had it forced on them. So that lends credence to the idea the state probably shut it down.

Ultimately, for about 10 years, Aldine was no doubt glad it annexed at least part of White Oak, as the then southernmost part of the annexed section was developed in Oak Forest in the 1940s, providing Aldine with a very good postion of its tax revenues until it was forced to cede it to HISD in 1959.

The order was lifted in 2000 (I believe)

It was lifted in 2002.

[Firebird65]

Outside of athletic purposes, which benefited Aldine High instantly

That's a myth. Actually, the school that benefitted the most was MacArthur.

The Aldine Mustangs finished the 1977 season with a 6-3 overall mark (the Carver game had been cancelled) and a 5-2 record in District 21-4A, which left them in a second-place tie with Smiley, one game behind Forest Brook, the district champ. Aldine had beaten Forest Brook. Had the Mustangs beaten Smiley in their last game (a 27-0 loss to the Eagles), then Aldine would have been district champs, not the Jaguars. Aldine was already a contending program BEFORE they received any Carver players.

MacArthur, on the other hand, finished 1977 with a 1-9 overall mark, with a dismal 0-7 district record - the second year in a row they finished 1-9 and 0-7. However, thanks to an influx of Carver players, the Generals suddenly went from doormats to nearly undefeated, posting a 180 degree turnaround in 1978 to finish with a 9-1 overall record (best in the district) and ended district play at 6-1. Their only loss on the year was a costly one - 14-0 to Aldine - that robbed them of not only a 10-0 perfect regular season, but a district title and their first-ever playoff berth as well. Aldine, while finishing ahead of MacArthur in the district standings, finished the 1978 regular season at 8-2, one fewer win than the Generals.

Clearly MacArthur, which improved by 8 full games and in almost any other year would have been district champs benefitted more than Aldine, which only won at best two more games (or maybe just one had the Mustangs played and beaten Carver) than the previous year, where it nearly won a title itself.

Eisenhower, not to be forgotten, went from 4-6 in 1977 to 6-4 in 1978, although they played in District 10-3A at the time. The Eagles did dramatically slice their points allowed from 170 in 1977 to just 98 in 1978.

Apparently, whoever the three schools got from Carver must have all been all-world on defense as neither the Mustangs, Generals or Eagles gave up 100 total regular season points in 1978.

[hbcu]

I finished in 96 but got to know Aldine folks in college....I can't speak for the 70s but Aldine High was a monster in the 80s and 90s and I know for a fact that had alot to do with Acres Homes even though I thought it was closer to Booker T. still....

Ike began to benefit more from folks moving into apartments on Antoine and the demographic change off 249 as folks I knew lived right across the street from an Aldine hood' on Ella and Gulf Bank were sent there...Ike began to be a force in the 90s and it also helped that Scarborough High sucked and the better talent just went down the street

MacArthur was up-and-down during my time as all I remember was Odell James....but I had a good friend who lived in Pine Trails off 59 who to this day is upset they weren't zoned to North Forest

Klein Forest began to make its run also thanks to the back side of Acres Home at that time....I used to date someone off of Alabonson and she lived 2 blocks from Ike in Inwood West but 3 miles from Klein Forest...

its a shame that area was split like that.....wish folks would've fought it then as imagine a Carver High that had community support...

[Firebird65]

(W)ish folks would've fought it then as imagine a Carver High that had community support...

Here is Carver's football record in its 11 UIL seasons:

1967 6-4

1968 6-3

1969 5-5

1970 9-2 (District 10-3A zone champs; lost district title game to Brenham)

1971 6-4

1972 9-2 (District 11-3A zone champs; lost district title game to Brenham)

1973 10-2 (District 11-3A zone and district champs; lost to Belton in Bi-District round)

1974 3-6-1

1975 3-7

1976 0-9-1

1977 1-6-1

So while the team had some initial success in its first years of UIL competition, posting a district championship and two zone titles, they had really bottomed out in the last four. Carver was barely competitive in its last two seasons. So how much their players really truly helped the other Aldine ISD schools in the first years is most certainly open to debate. Carver was no Yates North. It's fair to say they put an already pretty decent and rapidly improving Aldine team over the top, but they were not the sole source of the Mustangs' success, whether in 1978 or in the 1980s and 90s.

Credit for Aldine's success belongs with the coach - Bill Smith. As Bum Phillips once said about Don Shula, "He can take his and beat yours, and he can take yours and beat his." Same goes with Smith. The guy could coach and knew what he was doing. Carver players never really accomplished much of note until they went to Aldine and once Smith left there, the team went downhill, even though they still have and get players from Acres Homes. That's proof enough right there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the Carver players came to Aldine and I'm glad they got to enjoy in the success they helped create. But they were just a one part of the success, not the sole cause.

Now, as for your point about wishing Carver had community support, you could say that about pretty much every school outside of Katy or the Woodlands. It's a function of our highly mobile times. People come in then just as quickly move out. They never become a part of the community. Their home and community isn't a place they live in, it's just a place they "stay". I guess I share in that. I moved from Aldine to the Alief area and, as someone with no kids, the only reason I even pay attention to the Alief schools is because now they are in the same athletic district as Aldine and I can now see them play at least once a year down the street at Crump Stadium.

BTW - I'd sure like to put together a list of all of Carver's football scores and year-by-year records the way I did for Aldine. Unfortunately the local newspapers almost never published PVIL scores. I do have a few game results from each season going back to 1958 and most of the schedules from 1958 to 1966, but its far from complete.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Firebird65

[hbcu]

Like you said, I would like to see pre-integration records as post integration records that wasn't their true team as MC Williams was a high school then in Acres Home and they had alot of kids also from the area.

I got to observe Smith more in his latter years....especially the 30-point meltdown against PA Memorial in the playoffs back in 2003....when the talent began to suffer Smith picked the right time to get out like Carson did at Ike. When the schools like Westfield began to rise (alot of Aldine grads began to move up Veterans) Aldine's talent base began to dwindle overnight.

Acres Home has even changed as not as much talent there anymore unless you bring it back together as one...everyone has left towards Spring as Westfield and DeKaney has most of the talent but its not enough for 2 schools to succeed at a high level...

[billyf]

Not as big into sports as you guys, but here is my take.

I agree that a good coach is much of what makes a winning team. Out of a school of over 2000 students a coach can put together winning varsity team with the right training. I don't think it matters where the players come from or what ethnicity they are. I guess if all the coaches are looking for easy wins it might help that the team has a bunch of big black guys.

The same holds true for academics. The Kipp charter school which was founded in Houston performs better than some of the best public and private schools in the country. The schools are pretty much all minorities from poor neighborhoods. Most of the students perform below grade level when they come in, but are above in about a year. HISD's Apollo 20 program follows many of their methods. It isn't the kids; it is the teachers and administrators that make winning students. I knew kids that didn't have a father in the lives and their moms were a drug addicts. They managed to graduate and make a life for themselves. I know a good school life played a big part in that happening.

It was once thought that if you bussed kids from the ghettos to the nicer schools, the kids would get a better education. Instead people made what is known as the White Flight to the suburbs and the schools and neighborhoods declined. You are also forcing kids from different upbringings to go to school together who don’t necessarily want to which leads to racism and bullying. If the parents want their kids to go to that school they will move closer to it. One change in Texas schools over the last few years has been to allow kids to go to any school in the district so long as they have transportation and there is room. When I was in school this wasn’t an option and I knew people who used relatives address so they could go to a better school. Hopefully they will one day allow parents to send their kids to a school legally outside the district they live in. This along with a voucher program would force bad schools to shape up.

I must say that Aldine ISD has long been a good school district. They have good test scores, good sports teams and have always managed their budget well.

Edited May 12, 2011 by billyf

[hbcu]

I grew up near Mo. City and my parents were fortunate to be first generation college grads so of course, they wanted to achieve the American Dream of getting a house in the suburbs in the 70s. They did just that, and over the course of time, alot of white familes left for whatever reasons but the people moving in mostly were college grads so it wasn't like you were downgrading.

To make a long story short, the high school I attended became predominately black but it had community pride as we wanted to be the best in everything. It worked also as the sports team were nationally known, fine arts, etc. Even outperformed our district counterparts in academic subjects.

But of course, the district steps in, begins to bus folks from our zone way across the district to 2 separate schools claiming we were overcrowded when we never where. Lost alot of kids as a result with a different type of teacher and environment. I've never been a fan of busing kids away to satisfy a few egos because you create long term effects which is what my high school is going though now.

I don't support letting folks choose districts unless your parent works at a particular feeder school where you want to attend. You chose to live in one area so accept it.

[cowboybud]

Apparently not. My senior year (1983-84) the student council bought a juke box for the cafeteria. It played the same three songs over and over and over again: Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top, C'mon Feel The Noize by Quiet Riot and some gawdawful song by Alabama or some other country group I've thankfully blocked out of my mind. Bad memories all. The best thing that ever happened to that juke box was when they hauled it away.

Also:

"A Country Boy Can Survive" - Hank Williams Jr.

"Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran

[littlebunny]

I grew up in Aldine and am still here. I went to Colonial Hills (now Odom Elementry), Inez Carrol Elementry (now gone), Aldine Junior High (now Aldine Middle School) and Aldine High School. I graduated from Aldine in 1981. I would be happy to give you some memories. But I was wondering if you have looked at the site on face book called Aldine Sr High School In loving Memory of all fallen Mustangs. They have a list of people who went to Aldine and have passed away. I was quite shocked at how many have died from cancer or were murdered. It kind makes me want to take my kids and run.

[hbcu]

they've ran to Westfield only to run to the Woodlands...that's apart of life..at least they documented it

[billyf]

I grew up in Aldine and am still here. I went to Colonial Hills (now Odom Elementry), Inez Carrol Elementry (now gone), Aldine Junior High (now Aldine Middle School) and Aldine High School. I graduated from Aldine in 1981. I would be happy to give you some memories. But I was wondering if you have looked at the site on face book called Aldine Sr High School In loving Memory of all fallen Mustangs. They have a list of people who went to Aldine and have passed away. I was quite shocked at how many have died from cancer or were murdered. It kind makes me want to take my kids and run.

A lot of them died in car accidents too which is as equally as shocking to me. I saw that a guy I had several classes with at Aldine died in a motorcycle accident last year. With the number of people that went to the school deaths are to be expected.

I knew a lot of people in the Aldine area that died young due to health problems (under 60). I'm sure lifestyle had a lot to do with it. Lot's of the old schoolers did a lot of drinking, smoking and had poor eating habits. I will say overall the kids I went to school with were pretty strong and healthy. It wasn't like today where schools have no peanut zones in the lunch room. A few kids had asthma, but it didn't stop them from playing sports. I had bad sinus allergies, but have outgrown them for the most part. I also hardly get sick.

BTW does anyone know if there were ever any disease outbreaks like Polio, measles, pertussis or diphtheria in the Aldine area before the vaccines were introduced? A lot of communities had major outbreaks which killed or permanently injured a lot of kids. I researched the history of the polio epidemic and it affected the poor much less. This was likely due to the fact that poorer kids are not afraid to get dirty which strengthens the immune system.

Edited May 27, 2011 by billyf

[littlebunny]

Looking back now it's a wonder any of us survived. We rode our bikes and there was no such things as helmets. We played in the ditches, catching bees in jars and crawfish and minnows when it rained. (kids can't do it now because half the neighbors pump their sewage and waste water into the ditches) We did not have bottled water. Where ever we were at we just used the water hose to drink from. We had no sun block, It was not summer until you got your first sunburn. There was no air conditioning, so you stayed outside all day anyway. I think kids these days are just way over protected. I encourage mine to go out and play in the dirt, chase bugs, build a fort in the back yard, just get dirty. That's what water is for.

[ashowmetexan]

I grew up on Raymac street directly across from Inez Carroll and attended it from 1968 until 1973. Now I know why it isn't there anymore.

[ashowmetexan]

Looking back now it's a wonder any of us survived. We rode our bikes and there was no such things as helmets. We played in the ditches, catching bees in jars and crawfish and minnows when it rained. (kids can't do it now because half the neighbors pump their sewage and waste water into the ditches) We did not have bottled water. Where ever we were at we just used the water hose to drink from. We had no sun block, It was not summer until you got your first sunburn. There was no air conditioning, so you stayed outside all day anyway. I think kids these days are just way over protected. I encourage mine to go out and play in the dirt, chase bugs, build a fort in the back yard, just get dirty. That's what water is for.

Wow! I remember those days! everything you talked about was what I did growing up there.

[Firebird65]

Got some more information of the beginnings of the education in the Aldine area.

I was wondering the other day about the origins of Harris County Common School District 29 (the county-run predecessor to Aldine ISD). Went to wikipedia to see if the Aldine ISD page had changed since last I had visited it. Lo and behold someone updated the wikipedia page with a lot of great info, just what I was looking for and needing.

According to the latest wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldine_Independent_School_District District 29 was founded in 1884 with the consolidation of two north Harris County school "communities" - Westfield and Higgs - into a single district. The Westfield school started in 1876. No starting date was given for Higgs.

Now with this new information several more questions surface. I sure hope whoever posted that info to wikipedia reads this board and can find the answers. When was the Higgs school started? The Aldine community's first school wasn't until the early 1900s ( I think I read somewhere 1904 was the first school, which was replaced by a larger building in 1912). When did Aldine become part of District 29? Or was it always part of the district? Also, the way the page now reads, the Brubaker school apparently was part of another district that was dissolved and Brubaker became part of District 29. What district was that and when did that happen?

The wikipedia page also mentions the Hartwell School, which had 8th and 9th grade high school classes and I do believe has been discussed in this or some other Aldine thread. This school was District 29's first attempt at a high school and existed sometime in the late 1900s and early 1910s. It closed sometime after 1914 and before 1927.

[Urban Commando]

Not meaning to ressurect a long dead thread, but figured this would be a good place to put this information. Aldine ISD has had the old Lane Center torn down. Nothing but an empty area there. Another piece of history gone.