Ibarra Elementary School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Ibarra Elementary School in Brazos County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. It's a story about a little wooden schoolhouse that carried a whole lot of weight on its two-room shoulders.

In 1935, the Bryan School Board elected to construct a two-room, wooden school building for Spanish-speaking children, grades one through four. The site they chose was on the Joe Batts property, right along the new route for Highway 21, west of the city. The city purchased that site in West Bryan on June 20, 1935, and just like that, the school had a home.

And they gave it a name that mattered. The school was named for Reverend Guillermo Ibarra, who served as the first pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista of Bryan from 1922 to 1929. Reverend Ibarra believed that education was the key to social development, achievement, and success.

That belief got built right into the walls of that little wooden building. Now, here's where you have to hold the full picture in your mind. Schools were segregated during this time, and it was often difficult for Hispanic children to get to school at all, because of distance and the lack of transportation.

So the school's very existence was both an answer to a need and a product of the same system that created the hardship. The principal was C.M. Bethany.

The first teachers were Esther Price and Philippa Stoneham, two women who could speak both English and Spanish, and that mattered enormously in those halls. Students had mixed experiences, from being segregated to being punished for speaking Spanish. That's a hard truth, and the marker doesn't flinch from it, and neither will we.

Breakfast and lunch for students was provided by the Relief Program. The Parent Teacher Association was active and put on a spring program where children would sing and dance. On those nights, that two-room wooden building probably felt a whole lot bigger.

Citizenship classes were offered to Latin American residents who desired to become citizens. Boy Scout meetings were held right there at Ibarra School, under the leadership of Pete L. Rodriguez and Manuel Herrera, Sr.

And on Friday nights, movies were shown outside on the playground for the community. Think about that. A school that by day taught children to read and write, and by night threw open its playground to the whole neighborhood under the open Texas sky.

Ibarra Elementary served children from 1935 to 1949, when it was renamed San Jacinto Elementary and continued serving as a school until 1960. The building is gone now. But the ground it stood on became Ibarra Park, carrying that name forward right where the roots were planted.

What the marker says

IBARRA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN 1935, THE BRYAN SCHOOL BOARD ELECTED TO CONSTRUCT A TWO-ROOM, WOODEN SCHOOL BUILDING FOR SPANISH-SPEAKING CHILDREN FOR GRADES ONE THROUGH FOUR. THE SITE CHOSEN WAS ON THE JOE BATTS PROPERTY ALONG THE NEW ROUTE FOR HIGHWAY 21, WEST OF THE CITY. THE SITE IN WEST BRYAN WAS PURCHASED BY THE CITY ON JUNE 20, 1935. THE SCHOOL WAS NAMED FOR REVEREND GUILLERMO IBARRA WHO SERVED AS THE FIRST PASTOR OF PRIMERA IGLESIA BAUTISTA OF BRYAN FROM 1922-1929. HE BELIEVED THAT EDUCATION WAS THE KEY TO SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, AND SUCCESS. DURING THIS TIME SCHOOLS WERE SEGREGATED AND IT WAS OFTEN DIFFICULT FOR HISPANIC CHILDREN TO GET TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF DISTANCE AND THE LACK OF TRANSPORTATION. THE PRINCIPAL OF THE IBARRA SCHOOL WAS C.M. BETHANY. ESTHER PRICE AND PHILIPPA STONEHAM WERE THE FIRST TEACHERS. THEY COULD SPEAK BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. STUDENTS HAD MIXED EXPERIENCES FROM BEING SEGREGATED TO BEING PUNISHED FOR SPEAKING SPANISH. BREAKFAST AND LUNCH FOR STUDENTS WAS PROVIDED BY THE "RELIEF PROGRAM." THE PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION WAS ACTIVE AND PUT ON A SPRING PROGRAM WHERE CHILDREN WOULD SING AND DANCE. CITIZENSHIP CLASSES WERE OFFERED TO LATIN AMERICAN RESIDENTS WHO DESIRED TO BECOME CITIZENS. BOY SCOUT MEETINGS WERE HELD AT IBARRA SCHOOL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF PETE L. RODRIGUEZ AND MANUEL HERRERA, SR. ON FRIDAY NIGHTS, MOVIES WERE SHOWN OUTSIDE ON THE PLAYGROUND FOR THE COMMUNITY. IBARRA ELEMENTARY SERVED CHILDREN FROM 1935-1949 WHEN IT WAS RENAMED SAN JACINTO ELEMENTARY AND SERVED AS A SCHOOL UNTIL 1960. IBARRA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS LOCATED ON THE CURRENT SITE OF IBARRA PARK.