Happy Birthday to Northside! Sixty years ago this month, the first steps were taken to create Northside ISD.
Between Feb. 5, 1949 and Aug. 12, 1950, nine rural districts consolidated into what would ultimately be called Northside Independent School District. The original nine districts were: Clifton, Culebra, Helotes, Hoffmann, Leon Springs, Leon Valley, Lock Hill (sic), Lockhardt, and Mackey.
Enrollment that first year was 823 students, H.M. Biggers was named superintendent of the new district, and construction began on Northside High School, which was renamed John Marshall High School in 1960. Northside High School's first graduating class in 1951 had seven students.
To see photos from Northside's early years, see page 2 of the latest issue of Lessons, NISD's quarterly newsletter, which is mailed to District residents and also
posted online.
In addition, Northside's history through 2008 is available
online. Here are a few highlights:
- 1955 - The Northside school board approves integration of Northside High School.
- 1964 - Edmund Cody is appointed superintendent.
- 1966 - NISD begins its bilingual and special education programs.
- 1974 - Nellie M. Reddix became the first African American and the second woman to serve on the Northside school board.
- 1980s - NISD is named the fastest growing school district in Texas and enrollment hits 50,000.
- 1982 - Jack Jordan is named superintendent
- 1995 - Ed Rawlinson becomes superintendent.
- 1996 - Mary Hull Elementary becomes the first Northside elementary school to earn National Blue Ribbon status.
- 2002 - Enrollment hits 67,000. Dr. John Folks is hired to be the new superintendent.
- 2005 - Northside becomes the first district in Texas to win the H-E-B Excellence in Education award.
- 2007 - Northside is named one of five finalists in the nation for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education, considered the "Oscar" of education.
- 2009 - Northside is the fourth largest district in Texas with 100 schools and an enrollment of 88,400.
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