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History Of Schools In Aldine ISD


billyf

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The expanded section of the cafeteria is also on the 1973, but not the 1964. There are windowless classrooms on the back part of the 100 hall next to the main gym. When I went there the heath classes were held in those rooms. I'm thinking those were added the same time the cafeteria was expanded as they are right next to it. The question is was the mini gym, the expanded section of the cafeteria and those classrooms (and a restoom) done as part of the 1970 additions? I had only been in that restroom back there once as it was usually locked. The style was different than the ones on the 400 hall or the front which could indicate a different designer.

Yeah, I remember those windowless classrooms. I had health class when I was in there. I only remember because I had this really tall black teacher named Mrs. Clark as my teacher. Some fool asked her on the first day of class if she had played basketball. Bad move.

I do not know when those additions were made. They well may have been done at nearly the same time as the others. Here is the story from the January 29, 1970 issue of the Mustang. Check out the end of the story that seems to lead credence to that idea:

Aldine Classroom Construction Well on Way to Being Complete

By Phil Hahn

The arrival of 1970 has brought many new things into the world we live in, but one of the most important things to the people of Aldine will be the completion of the construction now underway at Aldine Senior High School.

"There has been a tremendous amount of progress and with the new facilities Aldine Senior High will provide the students with a top-notch educational program," stated Mr. Jim Hailey, Aldine principal.

In the new science wing which will open soon, there is a total of six new science lecture rooms and two new labs, a biology lab and a general physical science lab. These new rooms will eliminate the shuffling of classes and eliminate the use of labs as classrooms.

Mr. Hailey expects the other new wing on the far northern side of the campus to be finished by the first of April if the weather stays good and there are no other hold-ups. This new wing will have two new typing rooms, a business machines room, air electronics room, and air-conditioned cosmetology rooms.

Two new art rooms and two new drawing rooms for vocational drafting and mechanical drafting will also be added in the north wing.

Mr. Hailey went on to say that the history and other social studies classes will move out of the temporary buildings into the north wing upon its completion.

The extra cafeteria space has been added and is complete except for an absence of windows in the new doors. A juke box in the cafeteria will be a welcome addition to the students when the doors are finished and the cafeteria can be locked.

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OK so it must have all been done around the same time. At least we know the cafeteria was done around the same time which makes sense now that I think about it. Now we just need to find out when the front addition opened and why it says 1972 when even 1973 seems too soon.

By the mini gym there was another weight room which I guess was added the same time the mini gym was. I think there were another set of locker rooms added too, though I have never been in them. There was a basement by the outside door of the old locker rooms which I think was for the boiler for the old heating system and the pool pumps. I student fell though the door when I went there and broke his back. They put a fence around it after that. I always wondered what it looked like down there.

What's this about a Juke box? I guess it didn't last very long. lol

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What's this about a Juke box? I guess it didn't last very long. lol

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.

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Here's a story on the first Vaquera drill team:

Aldine Vaqueras Promote Spirit; Back Team With Drills and Yells

November 27, 1957

"Left, right! Left, right! Swing those arms! Pick up those knees! We want to look sharp on that field on Friday night!"

Those are the words you might here if you dropped in on a practice session of the girls' drill team, the Vaqueras. This new organization has been organized in order to promote school spirit, back the team in its activities, and encourage its members to maintain a high standard of scholastic work and citizenship. In order to become a member of the Vaqueras, a girl must maintain a C average in scholastics and an A average in conduct. One B per six weeks is allowed.

The Vaqueras, who organized themselves in August of this year, have drilled in every football game since September 27. Along with the band, they have participated in halftime activities with precision drilling and formations.

The Vaqueras are sponsored by Mrs. Olivia Moore and Mrs. Betty Allison. They are led by Major Bonnie Cavner, Captains Waw Weese Rigsdell and Patricia Cockrell. These officers are clad in white Western attire, while the regular drill team uniform consists of white blouse, blue gored skirt, and white cowboy boots and hats.

Other officers are as follows: Lieutenants Carol Ann Ingram, Sandra Sapora, and Sammie Lowance; Top Sergeants Mary Ellen Ward and Rebecca Diaz; Sergeants Kathleen Childress, Barbara Childress, Jo Ann McMullen, Jane Ann Avara, and Jeraldine Niederhofer; Manager Kathleen Dunn; and Majorettes Linda Rogers, June Roark, and Faye Nicholson.

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I thought there was only one gym back then? The article say there was a boys and girls gym "each gym has a full length basketball court". Were they talking about the old court outside by West Road?

I didn't play any sports in school, but I know during PE we NEVER took showers. I always found it odd how kids on TV showered after gym class. I mean it's not a bad idea, but it was something no one ever did. We never had any hair dryers, towels or drapes either! Maybe the girls rooms did.

Reading these old articles it sounds like Aldine was a fun school to go to back then. It was a much smaller school and everyone pretty much came from the same background.

Edited by billyf
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I thought there was only one gym back then? The article say there was a boys and girls gym "each gym has a full length basketball court". Were they talking about the old court outside by West Road?

I didn't play any sports in school, but I know during PE we NEVER took showers. I always found it odd how kids on TV showered after gym class. I mean it's not a bad idea, but it was something no one ever did. We never had any hair dryers, towels or drapes either! Maybe the girls rooms did.

Reading these old articles it sounds like Aldine was a fun school to go to back then. It was a much smaller school and everyone pretty much came from the same background.

In 1956, there is only one gym. As you can see from this shorter article from October 26, 1956, it says the gym can be divided into girls and boys sections.

As for the showers, I only took maybe three. Each of those were after swimming and I rinsed both me and my bathing suit off at the same to avoid smelling like chlorine the rest of the day (I always had second period gym, every year while I was there).

For the most part, especially after my sopohmore year, PE was a joke. All we really did my last two years was play basketball. Well... actually the black dudes played on either goal of the main court and every dumb white kid (who were then the majority) who was dumb enough to play was crammed onto the four remaining side goals - meaning you could either have games of 20 on 20 or... like me... you just sat and talked with your friends for the 45 minutes of class or brought your books and studied. So you never would break a sweat and hence there was no need to take a shower or even wash your gym clothes for weeks at a time as they actually never got dirty.

In the early 1980s, we had to take 3 1/2 years of PE and a half year of health. If I remember correctly, the state amended that after I left, requiring only 1 1/2 years of PE and a half year of health. Wish they'd have done it when I was there. Shoot, I'd have rather taken Super Dooper Advanced Triganometry (and I'm a Math dummy) or even Home Ec. Or even better, just have had an hour knocked off my day.

68v9l0.jpg

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It was the same way when I went there. They would throw the black kids a basketball and the rest of us would sit and watch or play on the side goals. There was no swimming, baseball or football. I didn't learn to swim till I taught myself a few year back. It would have been nice if they taught us stuff like that in school. Later in the year about 6 of us were given the key and allowed to go to the weight room by the field house to work out. Some female coach didn't like that we were out there unsupervised and made a big deal about it to the head coach. That really pissed me off because we were not hurting anyone or doing anything against the rules out there. We were allowed a few times after that to use the weight room by the mini gym which had those weights with the cables.

I would have probably dropped out if I had to do 3.5 years of PE. lol We were only required 1.5 years of PE, but there were a bunch of classes that counted for the other 1/2 credit. I took co-op and that counted for a PE credit so I only had one year. Now they only require one year and health is optional by the state, though some schools still require it.

Looking back a lot of time was wasted in school. That time could have been spent preparing us for college or the work force, which is what school is for anyway.

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OK, I have in front of me the 1973-74 Aldine High Roundup yearbook and it confirms that the new front end addition of the 500 and 600 halls and administrative offices opened in August 1973. It has a photo of the staff moving in, which I'll scan and add here later.

This shows why you have to be really careful with historic research as the plaque by the office says 1972. Always get more than one source!

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OK, I have in front of me the 1973-74 Aldine High Roundup yearbook and it confirms that the new front end addition of the 500 and 600 halls and administrative offices opened in August 1973. It has a photo of the staff moving in, which I'll scan and add here later.

This shows why you have to be really careful with historic research as the plaque by the office says 1972. Always get more than one source!

Ahh so my source was right :)

Looking foward to that pic.

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Ahh so my source was right :)

Looking foward to that pic.

Don't get your hopes up. The pic isn't that great. None of the 1970s yearbooks were anything special. Most of the pictures are poorly composed, have bad contrast and are ever so slightly out of focus. They are quite disappointing in comparison to the ones from the 1960s. There was a different sponsor in each decade and each had a different approach. The 1960s ones are more newsy while the 1970s ones tend to be more artsy.

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Don't get your hopes up. The pic isn't that great. None of the 1970s yearbooks were anything special. Most of the pictures are poorly composed, have bad contrast and are ever so slightly out of focus. They are quite disappointing in comparison to the ones from the 1960s. There was a different sponsor in each decade and each had a different approach. The 1960s ones are more newsy while the 1970s ones tend to be more artsy.

I think that was film in general in the 1970s. For what ever reason film in the 1970s got really cheap. You see it in pictures and in movies.

On another note I had a plummer out yesterday that went to Aldine for a year and Stovall for 3 years in the late 70s to 1980. I couldn't think of anything to ask him about the school. He did tell me that he enjoyed living in the area during that time. He lived in Oak Glenn Place.

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Thanks

So where were the admin offices before this? I never saw any offices in the older wing that might have been used.

I've wondered that too. Perhaps in the same spot, just not as in a large an office? The yearbooks don't have many detailed pictures of the front of the building. There was a circular drive and a covered walkway where students would wait, but beyond that it's really difficult to tell if the area by the library was the end or if maybe there was something in the area where the expansion took place that they dismantled and built over.

The library was also expanded in that addition, but I sure don't see where. The photos of the library before the addition show a bright, airy space. It sure wasn't that way afterwards. I guess the back of the library (which would have then been the front of the building) had some windows that let in sunshine. It's very dark in there now.

BTW... the mini-gym opened in the 1978-79 school year. I see on wikipedia it's been worded to suggest it was built in 1970.

As far as air conditioning goes, that I'm working on. Unfortunately, I only have the 1972-73 and 1973-74 yearbooks from that time and got to see the 1969-70 yearbook at the school. None of those mention air conditioning. The library did not have the 1970-71 or 1971-72 yearbooks. When I was at Hidden Valley Elementary, they added A/C in my second grade year (1973-74). I do remember going to the school and sweating like a roasting pig in Cluster A in first grade (we used temporary buildings for kindergarten). But we were all so thrilled to get A/C. I guess AISD spent the early 1970s adding air conditioning. I presume whatever bond issue was passed that provided the money for the AHS expansions also paid for the A/C.

The interior pictures of the AHS building in the 1960s show a high, loft-like ceiling in the cafeteria and student lounge area with lots of exposed girders. I have a picture of the student lounge from 1972 that shows a low, false ceiling has been added. I'll have to look more closely at the pics from the 1972-73 and 1973-74 yearbooks for more clues.

2mqvzes.jpg

Finally, to close out this long meandering post, I saw in a picture of a very intersting shot from the 1970s of one of the front entrance pillars. On this pillar was a plaque that read "Aldine High School Additions" and listed all the school board members. Unfortunately, someone is blocking part of the plaque and I can't see what the rest says. I do not know if this is an earlier version on the plaque in front of the office that reads "1972" but it's not the same plaque. I can't read the whole thing, but it does say "Additions" in the plural use, meaning more than one. I'll scan it and try to blow it up. I have no clue if that plaque is still there as I walked on the side to get into the front door when I went, not in between the pillars.

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I have a feeling the 1972 date was a mean date of all the additions which were probably part of the same bond.

I see in that pic that the A/C had already been added to the older wing. I'm pretty sure at least the 1970 addition had A/C when it was built. Not sure if they added it to the old wings at the same time. I do know it is all on the same chilled water system which is outside by the 400 hall, next to the 9th grade center. The front addition is also on the same system. The auditorium, gym and cafeteria had its own separate systems. I'm have a feeling the auditorium and possibly the offices by it had A/C when it was built, but the rest of the school didn't. I also think the cafeteria might have had A/C before the rest of the school did. I remember seeing a really big, old a/c unit behind the cafeteria by the incinerator. I know when the A/C broke in the school one year the cafeteria was still cool. So I think the answer to the A/C question is more than one date.

I see from your 1960s pic of the front of the school that there is what looks to be windows near the auditorium. Those are now blocked with the 1973 addition. It looks like the library had windows too. BTW most of the front lost its windows when they added the other wing on in the late 90s.

Have to get back to work, I'll add more later.

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It really pays to read other threads on here. I read earlier this evening the one entitled "Map of Houston's Wards" and it have a very interesting and valuable link to the Harris County Archives web page. On there was a map from 1935 detailing the original boundaries of Aldine ISD. The map was pretty hard to read, but if I read it right, this should be a pretty close spproximation of AISD's boundaries when in was created in May 1935. The district is now 111 square miles, but it was only 91 square miles then, before it annexed parts of two neighboring districts.

fllok7.jpg

The green shaded area is what AISD picked up from the North Houston district (49) later in 1935 and the yellow is what it is left today of what it received from White Oak (26) in 1937. It annexed more of White Oak, but as was mentioned in a post earlier in this thread, it had to cede that area (which included Oak Forest) to the Houston ISD. I believe with all the info I have, I can make a more detailed map, but this approximation should do for now.

Oops... forgot to add... the star is the current Aldine High School. A is the location of the original 1912 Aldine school house. B is the Brubaker schoolhouse. H is the Higgs schoolhouse and W is the Westfield schoolhouse. These four schoolhouses were combined into the Marrs School when it opened in 1933.

Edited by Firebird65
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It really pays to read other threads on here. I read earlier this evening the one entitled "Map of Houston's Wards" and it have a very interesting and valuable link to the Harris County Archives web page. On there was a map from 1935 detailing the original boundaries of Aldine ISD. The map was pretty hard to read, but if I read it right, this should be a pretty close spproximation of AISD's boundaries when in was created in May 1935. The district is now 111 square miles, but it was only 91 square miles then, before it annexed parts of two neighboring districts.

I agree. Good find by NeneE.

http://www.hctx.net/archives/Img.aspx?Img=4

It sure is hard for me to tell which lines are boundaries on that map!

Anyway, I have a question for you. Do you know what event or legislation happened in 1947 or 1948 that caused LOTS of new school districts in Texas to be created and/or consolidated into new school districts?

[edit: added link to map]

Edited by gnu
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I agree. Good find by NeneE.

http://www.hctx.net/archives/Img.aspx?Img=4

It sure is hard for me to tell which lines are boundaries on that map!

Anyway, I have a question for you. Do you know what event or legislation happened in 1947 or 1948 that caused LOTS of new school districts in Texas to be created and/or consolidated into new school districts?

[edit: added link to map]

Yes, it was hard to read parts of that map, particularly in the southwestern corner of AISD. But I'm fairly confident I got it pretty close.

There once was a poster here named isuredid who gave me a report that detailed which surveys were included in the original AISD and that mentioned the 91 square mile figure. I can take that report and compare it to the survey boundaries on that map and get an exact picture of the borders. But that report is very detailed and hard to go through, so that's a rainy day project.

As for the laws you are refering to, those were the Gilmer-Aikin laws of 1949. They were pretty contentious. Don't let anyone fool you and say times were more genteel back then and politicians actually worked together. The hearings were quite nasty with lots of name calling.

Here's something on them from the Texas Handbook:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mlg01

Edited by Firebird65
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As for the laws you are refering to, those were the Gilmer-Aikin laws of 1949.

Did the new funding structure, created in the Gilmer-Aiken laws, result in the districts voluntarily consolidating with neighboring districts in order to increase their funding?

Or was the consolidation specifics mandated by the state - with the state deciding which districts would stay or merge into others etc?

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Did the new funding structure, created in the Gilmer-Aiken laws, result in the districts voluntarily consolidating with neighboring districts in order to increase their funding?

Or was the consolidation specifics mandated by the state - with the state deciding which districts would stay or merge into others etc?

That I don't know. I've never bothered investigating them much further than that article in the Texas Handbook as apparently they had little impact on Aldine ISD or Aldine High School.

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OK, let's try this again. I looked once more at the map on the Harris County Archives and I looked at the election report provided to me by isuredid that gave the survey boundaries of the original AISD. That map from the Harris County Archives is not correct. This would be the correct map, according to the boundaries as described in the election report. (Basically the boundary line headed east when it intersected West Montgomery Road at the Phillip Johnson survey. Today it heads west).

Sorry for the confusion, but that map was hard to read. Here now are the western boundaries as described in the election report. The green would be what Aldine annexed from North Houston, the yellow from White Oak. The A is today's Aldine High School. The M was the 1935 Marrs School (now the Lane Center).

2rxb7fs.jpg

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The building just above the mini gym is also an addition not show until the 1981 aerial. I believe that is where the other weight room I was telling you about is. Isn't the pool also in this area? I think this was added in 1978 also.

I think those two buildings by the gym are the newer locker rooms also added in 1997. I do remember being told new locker rooms were added with the 1997 additions. I was also told by the auto mechanic teachers that they added a/c and did some renovations to the vocational area in 1997.

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The building just above the mini gym is also an addition not show until the 1981 aerial. I believe that is where the other weight room I was telling you about is. Isn't the pool also in this area? I think this was added in 1978 also.

I think those two buildings by the gym are the newer locker rooms also added in 1997. I do remember being told new locker rooms were added with the 1997 additions. I was also told by the auto mechanic teachers that they added a/c and did some renovations to the vocational area in 1997.

The pool has always been there, since the day the school opened. I thought I had posted a story on the pool, but I guess not. I'll post it next go around.

I sent that map to someone I know and he told me that building next to the mini-gym was built at the same time. It's a storage center for old equipment, he said.

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Here is the original front of the school, circa 1962:

2agq1p2.jpg

The yearbook folks wonderfully decided to make sure the binding ran along the right hand third of the pic. This, the only really good shot of the original school facade. I tried to take it out as best I could.

Edited by Firebird65
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Here is the original front of the school, circa 1962:

2agq1p2.jpg

The yearbook folks wonderfully decided to make sure the binding ran along the right hand third of the pic. This, the only really good shot of the original school facade. I tried to take it out as best I could.

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.

Edited by billyf
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