Waco has rich heritage of schools
By Wendy GraggTribune-Herald staff writer
From one-teacher, one-room private schools when the town was formed, to the establishment of a Waco independent school system in 1948, to today’s many diverse and bustling campuses — education has been a constant in this area, once called “the Athens of Texas” for its schools.
The cycle begins again in a few days, with the start of the 2009-2010 school year. Some things never change, such as the need for immunizations and school buses. While other things, such as “separate but equal” schools, have given way to a rainbow of diversity, in every school, in every classroom.
In the spirit of “Back to School,” here’s a little history lesson for us all:
According to History of the Waco Public Schools, in 1909-1910, teachers made between $55 and $125 per month, for nine months, based on what grade they taught and the color of their skin. Today, first-year teachers at Waco schools may make $39,000 per year. That same year, the high school, at Fourth and Webster streets, was valued at $57,300. Last spring, Waco ISD began construction on a new University High School which may cost around $70 million.
Waco’s schools of the past can still be glanced here and there in the old relics that remain around town in the form of Sanger Avenue School on 18th Street or the old Waco High, at Ninth Street and Columbus Avenue.
Built around 1910, the old Waco High School will experience its centennial and a revival when it re-opens in 2010 as an apartment building. Almost a century ago, in 1910, a fire tore through the main building of Texas Christian University. The school chose to rebuild in Fort Worth.
The first Waco Free Public Schools date back to around 1882, when a tax was passed to pay for the schools. The Free Public Schools were apparently not an altogether popular idea. The History of the Waco Public Schools cites “the antagonism of the Reconstruction Period” for the sour attitude toward free schools. Apparently, some disliked the idea of a school tax, while others may have considered patronage of free schools tantamount to taking charity.
wgragg@wacotrib.com
757-6901
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