1950s | History | Round Rock ISD

The superintendency is yours if you want it: The hiring of Noel Grisham

by campus | Jun 16, 2021 | 1950s, 1957, Board Minutes, Board of Trustees, Noel Grisham, O.F. Perry | 0 |

“We have a tub full of applications,” Mr. Luther (L.O.) Ramsey said. “We know about your work here. We’ve already checked you out. The Round Rock superintendency is yours if you want it.”

Ominous clouds were on the horizon: That’s a mighty rough place over there

by campus | Jun 16, 2021 | 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, Board Minutes, Board of Trustees, Northside, O.F. Perry, Superintendent | 0 |

During the spring of 1954, the polio vaccine was released for children, Bill Haley and his Comets released “Rock Around the Clock,” and Civil Rights leaders were celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka when Justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. Back in Round Rock, Texas however, the outlook wasn’t so optimistic.

From a segregated school to President of the Board of Trustees

by campus | Jul 10, 2018 | 1950s, 1958, 1960s, Board of Trustees, Mexican School, Round Rock HS, Share Story | 0 |

I ran for the school board and was fortunate enough to be elected. I served for 12 years, having served as president, VP and secretary of the Board. I was, in fact, the first Hispanic to be elected to the Board of Trustees.

The Legacy of Joe Lee Johnson

by campus | Feb 14, 2018 | 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Hopewell School, Negro School, Round Rock MS, Segregation | 0 |

Joe Lee Johnson served students in Round Rock ISD for 36 years – from 1950 until his retirement in 1986 – as a principal, teacher and coach. Johnson has a long history with Round Rock ISD, first as a student at the Hopewell Negro School, and eventually serving as principal of the school through its desegregation in 1966. His wife, Mellownie also taught at the Hopewell Negro School and at Central (Berkman) Elementary School.

The story behind the first Dragon Yearbook

by Round Rock ISD | Feb 3, 2018 | 1950s, 1952, Round Rock HS, Share Story | 0 |

Dick Mayfield and I agreed that a great way to remember our fellow students’ accomplishments would be in a yearbook. RRHS had never had a yearbook. When they approached Mr. Perry, he dismissed our idea as “only a way to look at the girls’ pictures.”

Principal O.V. McDaniels originally said no to the yearbook idea, but later called us back into his office with a compromise — if we could sell $250 in ads in one hour, then we could have a yearbook.