Channelview Scrapbook

. . . . . I i'll . , . . . . 1 . - - - I i2(Ltacu¥l£iWlejUL) ^or>s Ф Early schools evolve into modern educational system In 1929, when the Channelview Independent School District officially began, students attended class in a two- room semi-primitive structure on DeZavala Street. Those same students who warmed their hands in front of a wood stove would probably not recognize the school system that has evolved over the past 50 years. Today, the Channelview ISD consists of six modern and renovated school buildings, an administration complex, and a maintenanee/transportation facility. Plans for a new elementary school are currently on the drawing board. To say it is a miracle that Channelview schools continue to exist today, much less in the proportions to which they have grown, is an understatement. Through the years, the future of these community schools were threatened many times. If not for the stubborn determination of education- minded individuals, Channelview students wuld probably be attending classes in Baytown or Galena Park today. In 1910, there were no schools for either blacks or whites in Channelview. In 1916, the records indicate that white students traveled to Penn City for their education. In that same year, the state offered to build and staff a school for the small black community in Channelview. Peter McGhee, whose father had been a slave of Gen. Sam Houston, donated the land for the schoolhouse. The original l0O-by-10Q-foot lot was located directly west of the present Key Truck Stop, near Interstate 10 and Market Street, While the McGhee School continued to grow and thrive during the 1920s, white children had to walk or hitch rides to attend schools in Baytown. After the Great Depression, people began moving to the Channelview area to raise gardens to help feed their families. As the population grew, Charles and D.L. Spates decided it was time to organize a common school district for Channnelview children. The first school board election was held in 1931. Charles Spates, Ed Williams, and Franklin Mayon were elected’ trustees. One of the first tasks undertaken by the school board was the construction of a four-room brick building on a site which later became Ordnance Depot land. Rapid enrollment forced renovation and re-occupation of the old two room building in 1937. The Channelview Independent School District was created by an election held in June 1938. It included ter¬ ritory comprising Common School District No. 18. By 1939, the high cost of living in Houston, Goose Creek, and other nearby towns caused a rapid development in the Channelview area, where several land subdivisions permit¬ ted individuals to purchase a small plot of land and, with a little capital, build a house, plant a garden, and buy a milch cow. This was a crucial time for the newly-formed indepen¬ dent school district because the scholastic population was increasing much more rapidly than the taxable wealth of the district. According to Mrs. D.M. Brooks, whose husband Donnie served on the school board for 14 consecutive years beginn¬ ing in 1937, the need for more classrooms, playgrounds, and teachers became imperative in the late 30s. * “There were no funds and no one to listen at how badly they were needed,” Mrs, Brooks told Jon Flukinger in a report filed with the district. “The present teachers had not been paid and the one who were boarding them became over burdened with no relief in sight,” she said. “So Donnie and Mr. E.C. Chamness (the superintendent at the time) went to see Mrs. Smilley of the county board, but they were curtly told she was busy. Un¬ daunted, they both marched to her back porch, found her shelling peas and pitched in and hleped all morning, leaving at midday with a promise of funds to render long overdue payment to the teachers.” After that initial encounter, the county board played an important part in assisting the district throughout its growth. Joe Cash, the first superintendent of Channelview schools, along with other school officials, was instrumental in persuading a subdivider of Channelview to set aside the present DeZavala school site if the school board would later purchase the land. The site was later sold to become part of the San Jacinto Ordnance Depot, and the new David Crockett school was erected on First Street. More buildings were erected on the site and served as a junior high school. G.S. Hart became superintendent in 1944. One of his big¬ gest dreams for the district was to have a new and separate junior high school. This dream was fulfilled with the com¬ pletion of a new junior high on Sheldon Road. H.C. Schochler succeeded Hart as superintendent in 1955. His main task was to lead a drive for a new high school. At one time there was even talk of consolidating with another district, but many community residents resisted this idea because the children would have to ride buses before sunrise to get to class on time. Finally, under the leadership of Schochler, a bond issue of $635,000 was passed, and in 1957 new facilities consisting of a classroom wing, an auditorium, administrative offices, and cafeteria were constructed beside the Crockett Junior High on Sheldon Road. Two more bond issues were later approved. In 1960, $620,000 built the first sections of Viola Cobb Elementary and the first part of a new junior high complex. In 1966, a bond issue of $1,117,000 was approved. This provided addi¬ tions to Cobb Elementary, DeZavala Elementary, and the junior and senior high school campuses. The last part of the 1966 bond issue provided additions to the athletic stadium, a fully-equipped shop, a new track and parking lot. During the 1970s, the district, which had always been a predominately residential community, acquired enough in¬ dustrial tax base to help launch a massive building pro¬ gram in 1977. With the leadership of Superintendent B.H. Hamblen, Channelview citizens approved a $10,284,827 bond issue in 1977, financing the construction of Alice Johnson Junior High, McMullan Primary, the administration building and maintenance barn, a new field house at the high school, and major additions and renovations at DeZavala Elementary, Cobb Elementary, Channelview High School and Schochler Primary. The remaining $4.5 million of the bond issue approved in 1977 has been set aside for the construction of a new elemen¬ tary school to house 600 students. t Eorly supporters of the Channelview ISD would be proud to see the results of their hard work and dedication today From a rustic two-room schoolhouse serving the educa¬ tional needs of a handful of students to a six-campus schout system meeting the complex challenges of nearly Ъ.ш children ... Channelview ISD has indeed come a long way