Pasadena Independent School District

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1893, several Pasadena families gathered in the home of a banker named Charles Munger. They had a problem, and they had a plan.

The problem was their children needed a school. The plan, well, the plan involved a chicken coop. That's right.

They converted Munger's chicken coop into a one-room schoolhouse, and they handed the chalk to a seventeen-year-old named Russel Munger, who became the first teacher. Now, whether young Russel had much say in the matter, the marker doesn't say. But there he was.

The community built a proper new structure the following year, and by 1898 the first school census came back with twenty-seven school-age children counted up. Twenty-seven. That's a start.

But the money side of things was getting complicated. County funds were gradually draining away, and the community wasn't about to let their school dry up with them. Voters petitioned for incorporation in 1898, and in March of that year, the Pasadena Independent School District was created.

The first independent school district in all of Harris County. Not a bad legacy for what started in a chicken coop. Then in December of 1904, the schoolhouse was picked up, moved to a new location, and enlarged to three whole classrooms for fifty-six students.

Progress. But two Swedish immigrants named Oscar and Hanna Kruse had bigger ideas. They pushed for a modern building, something that would attract more affluent residents to Pasadena, and the voters agreed with them.

By August of 1910, right here on this very site, a two-story structure rose up, six classrooms, an auditorium, and a bell tower. Grades one through seven filled those halls. The few students who pushed on to high school got sent to the secondary school over in Harrisburg.

That arrangement held until 1923, when the Pasadena High School program finally began at home. Then 1935 brought a big expansion, the South Houston and Genoa School districts were absorbed into Pasadena Independent, and the district started growin in earnest. Jackson Junior High went up in 1937.

By the end of World War II, more than thirty-seven hundred students were enrolled. Elementary schools and another junior high got added through the fifties and sixties, and by 1970 the number had climbed all the way to thirty-five thousand students. Thirty-five thousand.

From a chicken coop in Charles Munger's yard to one of the largest districts in Harris County. That's not a metaphor. That's just what happened.

What the marker says

Several Pasadena families met in the home of banker Charles Munger in 1893 to discuss the creation of a school for their children. The group converted Munger's chicken coop into a small one-room schoolhouse. Seventeen-year-old Russel Munger became the first teacher. The community built a new structure the following year. The first school census in 1898 listed 27 school age children. Financially strapped by the gradual loss of county funds, the community wanted to separate from the county system. Voters petitioned for incorporation in 1898, and the Pasadena Independent School District was created in March of that year. It was the first independent school district in Harris County. In December 1904 the schoolhouse was moved to a new location and enlarged to three classrooms for 56 students. Two Swedish immigrants, Oscar and Hanna Kruse, pushed for a modern building to attract more affluent residents to Pasadena, and voters agreed. A two-story structure with six classrooms, an auditorium and a bell tower was completed in August 1910 on this site. Grades one through seven met in this building, and the few students who advanced to high school were sent to the secondary school in Harrisburg. The Pasadena High School program began in 1923. The South Houston and Genoa School districts were absorbed by the Pasadena Independent School District in 1935, and the district grew rapidly. Jackson Junior High was erected in 1937. At the end of World War II the district had more than 3,700 students. Several elementary schools and a junior high were added in the 1950s and 1960s; by 1970 enrollment reached 35,000. The district continues to develop to meet the challenges of the 21st century. (1999)