DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the story behind the official marker — straight from the Texas Historical Commission's own inscription. Now pull up a chair, because this one starts the way a lot of good Texas stories start: with a fire. Back in 1907, Arlington opened a fresh little schoolhouse on the corner of Sanford and Center streets.
They called it North Side School, and it served grades one through seven. Simple enough. Promising, even.
But in 1909 — barely two years in — that building went up in flames. Destroyed by fire. And what did they do?
They gathered the kids in a temporary building on the property and in a cottage and kept right on teaching. Because that's what you do. Then they rebuilt.
Now, right about when all that rebuilding was happening — 1908, to be precise — a man named John A. Kooken arrived in Arlington. He came from Ferris, down in Ellis County.
He stepped in as high school principal, and it didn't take long for folks to notice what kind of man they had on their hands. By 1913, John A. Kooken was elected superintendent of public schools.
He held that position for twenty-four years — all the way until 1937. Twenty-four years of steering a school district will reveal a person's character, and what people remembered most about Kooken wasn't policy or procedure. It was his understanding and his patience with students.
The school itself kept growing, kept changing. In 1938, officials went after Works Progress Administration funding to raise a brand new building. It opened in 1939.
The old structure was torn down and its materials salvaged for other uses. The new school housed grades one through eight — and in a gesture that speaks volumes, they renamed it after John A. Kooken himself.
The man born on December 17, 1863, who'd given Arlington decades of his life. He passed on May 14, 1943 — but not before doing one more thing worth noting. In 1941, he published a memoir about his years as an educator.
A man who shaped generations, then sat down and wrote it all out. The story doesn't stop there. In the early 1950s, additional wings were added to the facility.
Then in 1976, the school closed — but the building didn't sit idle. It was put to work as a diagnostic and materials center. And then in 1988, it reopened as something altogether new: the only preschool campus in the entire district.
Today the place goes by Kooken Education Center, and it's been honored specifically for its work integrating preschoolers with disabilities into the general student population. That's not a small thing. That's a legacy building on a legacy.
Over a hundred years after North Side School first opened its doors on the corner of Sanford and Center streets, what endures is the generations of students who learned there — and the name on the building, belonging to one of the most important educators in Arlington's history. A man who arrived from Ellis County, stayed for decades, led with patience, and left a mark the town decided was worth keeping.
What the marker says
Arlington's North Side School opened in 1907 at the corner of Sanford and Center streets. Grades one through seven attended the new school. The building was destroyed by fire in 1909, and students met temporarily in a building on the property and in a cottage before the school was rebuilt. In 1938, school officials sought Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding in building a new school, which opened in 1939. The old building was torn down and material salvaged for other structures. Housing grades one through eight, the school was renamed in honor of educator John A. Kooken (December 17, 1863 - May 14, 1943), who came to Arlington from Ferris (Ellis Co.) in 1908 and became the high school principal. He was elected superintendent of public schools in 1913 and served in that capacity until 1937. Kooken was known for his understanding and patience with students. In 1941, he published a memoir about his years as an educator. In the early 1950s, additional wings were added to the facility. In 1976, the school closed and was used as a diagnostic and materials center before reopening in 1988 as the only preschool campus in the district. Known today as Kooken Education Center, the facility has been honored for work in integrating preschoolers with disabilities with the general student population. Today, over 100 years after North Side School was established, the institution's legacy lies in the generations of students who learned at the school and in being renamed after one of the most important educators in Arlington's history. (2010)