Central School
Escuela Central
Central School
In late 1882, the newspaper headline read: "$700 has been subscribed by the citizens of El Paso, Texas in lands, money and all material for the purpose of erecting a public school." So, the mission began. An election took place for a board, selecting O.T. Bassett as the first president, with Mayor Joseph Magoffin overseeing the new school board. In the fall of 1883, El Paso, now a progressive city of 4,000, saw the first El Paso public school officially open. There were 200 students in an old wooden structure. The principal, John Merrill, received $150 a month and used his own furniture. Only one teacher was hired, Anna Moore, and she received $75 a month. Knowing that more needed to be done, Calvin Esterly, the first superintendent, signed a contract to have a new large schoolhouse built that could be for all the students of El Paso. In 1884, it was built on the corner of Myrtle and Campbell streets and was called Central School. EPISD was home to the first public kindergarten class in Texas in 1893 at Central Elementary School. In 1885, the first high school was established and it was on the second floor of that same building. The subjects deemed critical, at that time, included mathematics, grammar and, at the top of the list, penmanship.
Report this entry
More from the same community-collection
"Seasons of the Sun" - El Paso, Texas
This sculpture is made by the El Pasoan muralist Carlos Callejo ...
Mural "Our History" in County Courthouse
The image shows part of the mural in the atrium of the County ...
"Shining Desert Suns: Giver and Taker of Life" - El Paso, Texas
The ball by Susan Klahr is titled "Shining Desert Suns: Giver ...
Recreation Area in Front of Main Library
The picture shows the recreation area in front of the Public ...
The Bert Williams Downtown Santa Fe Transfer Center
This new bus terminal is called The Bert Williams Downtown Santa ...
Border Youth Bus by Grave Herrera, Jeri Navarro and Dekan Ortega
This bus was decorated for the Chalk the Block festival in 2011. ...
