Lake Highlands Elementary School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Lake Highlands Elementary School, just as the Texas Historical Commission recorded it. Now, before a single classroom was ever built out here in Lake Highlands, the landscape of public education in this part of Dallas County told a story that's worth sitting with for a moment. Public schooling in the area was limited — and I mean limited by law and by design.

Black students attended Little Egypt School. White students attended Rogers School, until Rogers closed in 1929 and was folded into Richardson Independent School District. And the Richardson School District, let's be clear, would remain segregated until 1965.

That's the ground this story grows from. Then came World War II, and when the soldiers came home, families followed — out to the suburbs, out to places like this. Richardson School District's enrollment climbed dramatically, riding that same wave of suburban growth rolling across the nation.

By 1954, voters were ready to act. They approved bond issues to fund a new elementary school right here in Lake Highlands, and — same bond, same vote — an elementary and a high school for African-American students over in Hamilton Park. Builders finished work on the six-room Lake Highlands Elementary School in 1955.

Six rooms. That was the plan. Well.

The neighborhood had other ideas. Population kept surging, and by 1959 — just four years in — they had to add another six rooms onto what they'd just built. The place was barely broken in before it was already growing.

During those early years, a Parent-Teacher Association took root and got active, raisin' funds for school projects. And then came 1960, and here's where Lake Highlands Elementary earned something worth remembering. That year, it became one of the first schools in the entire nation to use television for educational purposes.

Students were learning from programs broadcast right out of Richardson High School. In 1960. That's not a footnote — that's a school leaning forward before most people even knew which direction forward was.

Enrollment kept climbing through the sixties. By the eighties, the school had branched out into bilingual education, pre-kindergarten, and centralized special education. The student body diversified over the years alongside those programs.

More than fifty years of public education in this community, from a six-room schoolhouse built on a voter's promise to a institution the State of Texas still points to as a leader. That's Lake Highlands Elementary — and that's no small thing.

What the marker says

Opening in 1955, Lake Highlands Elementary School has served this area for more than 50 years. Prior to 1955, public education in the area was limited to Little Egypt School for black students and Rogers School, which closed in 1929 when it was incorporated into Richardson Independent School District, for white students. Public schools in the Richardson School District would remain segregated until 1965. Following World War II, Richardson School District’s enrollment increased dramatically, following the trend of suburban growth across the nation. In 1954, voters approved bond issues supporting the funding of a new elementary in Lake Highlands, and an elementary and high school for African-American students in Hamilton Park. Builders completed work on the six-room Lake Highlands Elementary School in 1955. However, a surge in area population growth led to a six-room addition in 1959. During these early years, an active Parent-Teacher Association developed, which raised funds for school projects. Lake Highlands Elementary has been a leader in public education since its opening. Notably, in 1960, it became one of the first schools in the nation to use television for educational purposes, as students learned from programs broadcast from Richardson High School. Throughout the 1960s, enrollment continued to grow. By the 1980s, the school began to host special programs, including bilingual education, pre-kindergarten and centralized special education. The student body has also diversified over the years. Today, Lake Highlands Elementary School remains a leader in child education in the State of Texas. (2008)