Robinson Elementary School

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This article is about the Birmingham elementary school. For the Fairfield elementary school, see Robinson Primary School.
Robinson Elementary School
Robinson Elementary School logo.png
BCS small logo.png Birmingham City Schools
Years 1909–present
Location 8400 1st Avenue South, (map)
East Lake
Grades K-5
Principal Marcia Henderson
Enrollment 263 (2017)
Colors blue & gold
Mascot Roadrunner
Website bhamcityschools.org

J. E. Robinson Elementary School is an elementary school in the Birmingham Public School System that feeds into Ossie Ware Middle School. The school is located at 8400 1st Avenue South, just north of I-59 in the South East Lake neighborhood of the Roebuck-South East Lake community. The principal is Marcia Henderson.

The original Robinson School was constructed in 1909 on behalf what was then the Town of East Lake, under its superintendent Spright Dowell. The site was a 150-foot by 165-lot purchased from P. Montano at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 84th Street, serving children in the "upper end" of town who weren't able to walk all the way to Barret School at the "lower end". The new $11,200 6-room school was named in honor of then-East Lake Board of Education president J. E. Robinson. T. D. Moore was hired as principal.

The newly-built school was absorbed into Birmingham as part of the "Greater Birmingham" annexation that took effect on January 1, 1910. A fifth grade class was added at that time, with another grade added each year until 1914 when it taught kindergarten through 7th grade. From its early years the school employed a "director of athletics" at $2 a week to coach young athletes in various after-school sports.

By 1920 three frame cottages had been erected to accommodate the growing enrollment. A six-room addition, designed by architect William Leslie Welton, was completed in 1922. The Birmingham Board of Education's Survey of Birmingham Schools, published in 1923, found that the "recently improved and expanded" 12-classroom building still lacked a gymnasium, auditorium, music room, nature study, laboratory and library, all of which were recommended for schools at that time. The cooking room was considered too small, but the shop area was ample and the playground space, while in need of expansion, was above average for city schools. Moore's successor, H. B. Norton, oversaw the transition to the platoon system of teaching and the addition of an 8th grade program. In 1928 the Birmingham Board of Education acquired the remainder of the block, part of which was used for a 9-room addition.

A 1928 newspaper feature by Mary Chamblee described how teaching proper handwriting was a particular concern of the curriculum. All grades were instructed on proper arm movements, and the issue was dramatized by students who staged writing teacher Alice Perry's play entitled "The Trial of Penmanship". The feature also extolled the work of the Art Club which met Wednesdays after school with teacher Laura Anderson and produced posters to decorate the classrooms. An American Club for 8th graders interested in civics and government elected judges, constables and other officials to police good conduct among fellow students. The school's science class kept a small menagerie of aquatic creatures collected from nearby streams.

A gymnasium was constructed along with two new classrooms in 1950. A cafeteria was built at the school in January 1955. The opening of the new South East Lake Elementary School on 86th Street South opposite the planned Banks High School in 1956 helped to relieve crowding at Robinson Elementary, which had accommodated 1,418 students the previous year.

Robinson Elementary 2nd grade teacher Sarah Ann White was recognized as "Favorite Teacher of 1969" by the Birmingham Post-Herald. A feature profile in the newspaper described a typical day in her classroom as beginning with a remedial "reading party" for struggling students, followed by individual conversations. Bookkeeping tasks coincided with a televised phonic program, followed by a Bible reading, the pledge of allegiance, a song, and a prayer. Then the students would share something from their library books and lend them on to others. She continued working on reading with small groups while the rest of the class tackled mathematics worksheets. At lunchtime, she supervised their food choices and paid herself for the students who couldn't afford lunch. Afternoons varied between different activities including music, art, handwriting, or more math. Elementary science lessons and other enrichment were shared by way of films or film strips. Classes each day ended with a story or poem.

Robinson Elementary School was desegregated under a federal court order in 1970.

In 2006 61st Street Elementary School was merged into Robinson, and a new, much larger school was constructed on the same block, west of the original building. The new 65,000 square-foot 1-story school building was designed for 625 students by Fuller & Thompson Architects with T.R.I. Architecture.

Robinson's school colors were originally sky blue and red, and its teams used the nickname the "Rebels". Later those were changed to the "Robinson Roadrunners", with blue and gold colors.

Based on test scores from 2017, Robinson was deemed a "failing school" under the terms of the Alabama Accountability Act, permitting parents to claim tax credits to transfer students to another school.

Gallery

  • Robinson School 1909 building

    Robinson School 1909 building

  • Robinson School in 1956

    Robinson School in 1956

  • Rendering of the 2006 building

    Rendering of the 2006 building

Principals

References

External links

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