Crowley ISD Connections Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 13

50 Years of Memories

After half a century, Crowley High School continues to transform the community
Written by Megan Middleton
Crowley High School opened its doors 50 years ago,
ushering in an era of growth for Crowley ISD and a
chance for students to stay close to home to earn their
high school diplomas.

“Their kids were staying in the community and not
going to Fort Worth or Burleson or Everman. It was very
important to the city to be able to say we have 12 full
grades.”

Prior to opening, students attended neighboring cities’
schools, such as Fort Worth or Burleson, for high school.

Current CHS seniors are excited to commemorate the
past and create their own legacy.

When it opened in September 1966, Crowley High housed
seventh through 11th grades. The following school year,
1967-68, brought the first graduating class of 32 seniors.

“It’s really cool to be 50,” Noemi Bravo, a senior, said.
“Everyone celebrates the 50th anniversary of everything,
and to think that you’re the class graduating on the 50th
year is pretty special.”

Alta Lee Futch, a junior when CHS opened, said while it
was small then, students had every activity they wanted.
“I didn’t feel like I lacked for anything,” Futch said.
“Because we were so small, we all got to do something.”
School back then was an extension of family, she said.
Everyone knew each other, and if you got into trouble at
school, everyone knew that too.
“It was a close knit group,” she said. “That cohesiveness
and family oriented (feeling) was very much a part of the
school.”
Dr. Sidney Poynter, Crowley ISD superintendent for 40
years, said the community quickly took pride in its new
school, although some initially were hesitant.
“They just had Bess Race (school) for all those years,”
Poynter said. “The first new school that was built was
the high school. None of the other elementary or middle
schools were built. It really made them proud they had
such a fine facility.”
The decision to build came after CISD lost land to the
Fort Worth school district, in part because it did not have
a high school. Under Poynter’s leadership, the district
put forth a $600,000 bond issue, which voters approved.
The original one-story school was much smaller than
what exists today. Poynter said it has been added on to at
least six times.
The addition of CHS also marked the start of growth the
district saw in the decades to follow.
“That was progress for that community — big progress,”
Poynter said, noting the community pride it created.

Senior Carl Lindsey added, “You only get one” 50th
anniversary. “We know it’s going to be very exciting, and
we’re looking forward to it.”
More than 14,000 students have graduated from the
school, Principal Robert Gillies said.
“It continues to produce graduates who go on to college
and do great things,” Gillies, a 1986 CHS graduate, said.
“That’s the legacy of any school — that we can look back
and say we have touched this many lives and prepared
them for the workforce or college. I don’t think any other
industry can boast that.”
Gillies sees seniors concerned this year about traditions
of the past.
“I think they realize that what they do this year … will
always be linked to the 50th anniversary,” he said. “They
have a really strong sense of what happened before them
and honoring that.”
Futch, who was part of the first class to graduate from
CHS, returned to CISD as a librarian after college. She
worked 32 years before retiring, mostly at H.F. Stevens
Middle School but also several years at Crowley High.
“I’m proud it’s continued to exist and has expanded,” she
said. “It was a great place to go then, and it’s a great place
to go now.”

CHS 50th Anniversary Open House
2-5 p.m. • November 5, 2016

Come back to campus to walk the halls, meet our students
and catch up with old friends and teachers!
Learn more at www.crowleyisdtx.org/chs50
CROWLEY ISD CONNECTIONS | Fall 2016

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