Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School is a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

located at 5100 Hazard Street in

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Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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. A part of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

(HISD), the school, which was built during the 1920s, is located in the Chevy Chase subdivision of the Boulevard Oaks neighborhood west of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

.Civic Association Architectural Review/Deed Restriction Contacts
." Boulevard Oaks. Retrieved on December 25, 2012. The school, a

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) historic district

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

of Boulevard Oaks, was named after

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

. Poe Elementary, as of 2001, had about 700 students. It has bilingual programs for all grade levels and a fine arts

magnet program In education in the United States, the U.S. education system, magnet schools are State school, public schools with Specialized school, specialized Course (education), courses or Curriculum, curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary ...

. The 1980 ''Houston/Harris County Metropolitan Area Southwest-Westpark Corridor Transitway Alternatives: Environmental Impact Statement'' of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration described Poe as "a thriving, well-integrated

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary school, and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they mo ...

". From 1974 to 2021 the Poe Cooperative Nursery School (Poe-Co), a privately-operated

pre-school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical s ...

, was located on the Poe school grounds; it was established in 1974 in order to revive enrollment at Poe Elementary. It earned

National Association for the Education of Young Children The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a large nonprofit association in the United States representing early childhood education teachers, para-educators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families o ...

(NAEYC) accreditation in 1991, making it the first parent cooperative preschool to do so. Poe-Co moved from the Poe Elementary grounds after HISD removed private preschools from public school properties.

History

Poe was established in 1928. It was originally an elementary school reserved for white people and others who were not black. It was previously called "Chevy Chase Elementary School". The Poe Elementary School bombing occurred on September 15, 1959, when a man named Paul Orgeron detonated a bomb during recess at Poe Elementary School, killing himself, a teacher (Jennie Katharine Kolter), a custodian (James Arlie Montgomery, for which Montgomery Elementary was named), and three 7-year-old boys (Billy Hawes, Jr., John Fitch, Jr., and Dusty Paul, Orgeron's son). Ruth Doty, the principal, was partially deafened in one ear by the blast. Unlike school attacks in the early 21st century, there was no constant national and international media coverage of the Poe attack. No memorial was constructed at Poe Elementary. HISD named two new elementary schools after victims of the attack: Kolter Elementary School in Meyerland and Montgomery Elementary School in Southwest Houston. Poe was

desegregated Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

by 1970. In 1985 a new classroom wing opened.History
" Poe Cooperative Nursery School. Retrieved on December 6, 2016. From 1986 to 1996, Poe Elementary served a section of River Oaks as the neighborhood program of River Oaks Elementary School had been removed.Markley, Melanie.
Winds of change alarm River Oaks Vanguard parents
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. Sunday April 2, 1995. p. A33. Retrieved on October 22, 2012. Available on NewsBank (Record: HSC04021265468), accessible with a

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in ...

card. "Indeed, River Oaks Elementary ceased to be a neighborhood school in 1986. ..As it now stands, River Oaks children are zoned to one of three schools outside their community -- ..Poe Elementary on the other side of the Southwest Freeway in Southampton .. Ann McClellan served as principal of Poe beginning circa 1990, and according to the ''

'', during her tenure Poe "earned its reputation for high TAAS scores and academic standards." She served in that capacity until 2001, when Debbie Verdon became principal on July 23. Verdon previously worked in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District as a principal. When the 2005-2006 school year concluded, Will Rogers Elementary School closed. Poe Elementary School gained the portion of the Will Rogers zoning boundary that was east of Weslayan. Jeff Amerson became principal in 2011; he formerly taught at Pershing Middle School and The Rice School, and prior to becoming Poe's principal he was the principal of Garden Oaks Elementary School. Poe became an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

Primary Years school on February 22, 2016.

Campus

Poe Elementary, which has a light pink, velour brick exterior, copper sheet metal in a natural tone, and a multicolored natural slate roof, uses an

American Colonial American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), Spanish Colonial, French Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. ...

and Georgian theme. It was the prototype of Architect Harry D. Payne's school design for HISD.Payne, Harry D. A.I.A. "Six New Elementary School Buildings for the Houston Independent School District." '' American School & University'', Volume 2. Educational Division of North American Publishing Company, 1930. p. 84-88. CITED: p. 87 (PDF p. 4/5) - See
page 37 of Volume II
- This source refers to Poe as "Chevy Chase Elementary School" Poe's sister schools are River Oaks, Briscoe, Field, Henderson, and Wharton elementaries, which all share the same floor plan. Payne gave each of those schools its own unique exterior.Ewing, Betty. "River Oaks grads, you can relive those good old days." ''

''. Monday November 29, 1976. Section 2
Page 1
(). The school library, previously consisting solely of the area of three classrooms, received an over $80,000 renovation and expansion in 2002. Parents and other area residents contributed $50,000 while the parent-teacher organization (PTO) held fundraisers and other events to generate $40,000. the school library had six

IBM compatible An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central pro ...

computers and four

iMac The iMac is a series of all-in-one computers from Apple Inc., sold as part of the company's Mac (computer), Mac family of computers. First introduced in 1998, it has remained a primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since and evol ...

s. Poe Elementary has a fireplace and chimney given to the school by

Ima Hogg Ima Hogg (July 10, 1882 – August 19, 1975), known as "The First Lady of Texas", was an American society leader, philanthropist, mental health advocate, patron and collector of the arts, and one of the most respected women in Texas during th ...

. As of 2010 the fireplace is located in the art classroom. The building is a

of the Boulevard Oaks Historic District on the

Curriculum

The school has dance, music,

Suzuki violin The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching method created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners. Backgroun ...

, and visual art classes as part of its magnet program.

Transportation

about 200 Poe students lived north of U.S. Highway 59 and used a bridge on Woodhead Drive to travel to the school, south of the freeway; at least twenty students regularly traveled as pedestrians while about 66% of those north of U.S. 59 were driven in private cars. School bus service was not available since the students lived too close to the school.

School culture

Every year Poe Elementary holds a carnival patronized by members of the Boulevard Oaks community, parents, and future parents. The carnival raises funds to cover budget gaps not supported by HISD or by the State of Texas. The school also holds an annual auction fundraiser.

School uniforms

Poe students (since fall 1998, as of 2006) have to wear

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...

s. At first, students had a choice of white, red, yellow, or navy blue

T-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

and

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in British Raj, British India in 1859 and ...

s and school T-shirts. Later the school banned all non-Poe logo shirts. As of 2006, all shirts must have the Poe logo. Students must wear khaki bottoms. The

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

specified that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.

Poe Cooperative Nursery School

There is a formerly affiliated private preschool, Poe Cooperative Nursery School (Poe-Co), which historically shared a campus with the public Poe elementary school. It was established after a decline in enrollment at Poe Elementary in the 1970s that occurred due to racial integration.Driscoll, p
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"In the early 1970s, enrollment at Poe Elementary School declined dramatically in response to the court-ordered racial integration of the Houston Independent School District. Poe parents approached the superintendent with their concern about declining enrollment and the loss of neighborhood children to private schools. Their discussions resulted in the founding of a preschool as a way of attracting community families to Poe. (Hansen, 1992) The school district provided space, utilities, and nominal maintenance, while parents coordinated administrative details .. While the parents themselves administered the school and served as assistants in the classrooms, HISD provided the building space and the supporting utility and maintenance services. Then-HISD superintendent Billy Reagan suggested that a private preschool open on the grounds of Poe Elementary. The preschool opened on February 4, 1974, with two classes of students. The enrollments of these two classes were filled shortly after PoeCo opened. Poe Elementary received an increase in enrollment after PoeCo opened. The preschool was originally held in temporary locations, with some located in the Poe property and some outside of Poe. In 1985 two classrooms in the north wing of the Poe school building were converted into preschool classrooms. The preschool earned

(NAEYC) accreditation in 1991, making it the first parent cooperative preschool to do so. Each parent of an enrolled student must work at the preschool for two days out of every month. PoeCo holds an annual garage sale to support its operations. PoeCo parents also assist in the wider Poe Elementary carnival by manning booths and/or babysitting for parents who work in the carnival. In 2020 HISD announced that it will expel private preschools from HISD campuses. HISD was trying to build its own public preschools, and HISD receives funding from the state for public preschool students but not private preschool students. It moved to St. Matthew Lutheran Church effective June 2021.

Neighborhoods served

The school serves multiple neighborhoods and areas: Boulevard Oaks (including Broadacres), Ranch Estates,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Shadyside,

Rice Village Rice Village is a shopping district in Houston, Texas, United States. Rice Village is a collection of shops, restaurants and pubs, situated about a half-mile west of the center of Rice University's campus. The core "Rice Village" extends over ...

, a portion of

Neartown Montrose is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Montrose is a area roughly bounded by Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, South Shepher ...

(including sections of Montrose,Map of Montrose
''

''. Retrieved October 20, 2008. Castle Court, Dearborn Place, Richwood Place, and a portion of Lancaster Place), portions of the

Houston Museum District The Houston Museum District is an association of 21 museums, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting art, science, history, and culture. The Houston Museum District currently includes 21 ...

area,Mulvaney, Erin.
Neighborhoods: Museum District becomes a place of contrasts
" ''

''. July 8, 2016. Retrieved on July 11, 2016. "The community, ..s bordered by U.S. 59, Texas 288, Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center." a portion of Riverside Terrace,Wollam, Allison.
Riverside Terrace bucks housing slowdown
" ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

''. August 15, 2008. Retrieved on April 18, 2009. "It’s becoming common practice for homes in the Riverside Terrace area — a historic Inner-Loop neighborhood bounded by Scott, North MacGregor, Almeda and Wheeler .. and a portion of

Upper Kirby Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after Kirby Drive, so indirectly takes its name from John Henry Kirby. Upper Kirby contains many businesses, including restaurants. Upper Kirby is east of the ...

(areas of the district located west of Edloe and north of Westpark, residential areas located east of Edloe, west of Kirby, and north of

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...

, and residential areas east of Kirby). In addition, the 2727 Kirby condominium complex, and the Greenway Condominiums (14 Greenway and 15 Greenway), are zoned to Poe Elementary. A

Houston Housing Authority Houston Housing Authority (HHA), formerly Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), is the public housing authority in Houston, Texas. The Mayor of Houston appoints the board of directors of the HHA, but it itself is not a department of th ...

(HHA)

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

complex, the Ewing Apartments, is zoned to Poe.

Feeder patterns

Most residents of the Poe attendance boundary are zoned to Bob Lanier Middle School (formerly Sidney Lanier Middle) in

, while a few are zoned to Cullen Middle School. All residents of the Poe attendance boundary are zoned to Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in

Miscellaneous usage

Poe Elementary serves as a polling location during elections. The ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'' ranked it as the best polling center in Houston in 2003.

References

* Driscoll, Amy. ''Cases in Early Childhood Education: Stories of Programs and Practices''.

Allyn and Bacon Allyn & Bacon, founded in 1868, is a higher education textbook publisher in the areas of education, humanities and social sciences. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, the world's largest education publishing and technology company, which is ...

, 1994. , 9780205150212. Chapter 7, Poe Cooperative Nursery School "Parent Involvement: Building Community for Children and Parents" is on pages 113-130.

Reference notes

Notes

* Some material originated from Boulevard Oaks, Houston

External links

Poe Elementary School
*
Poe Elementary PTO

Poe Cooperative Nursery School
* {{Houston ISD Houston Independent School District elementary schools Public elementary schools in Houston 1928 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 1928 International Baccalaureate schools in Texas School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Historic district contributing properties in Texas