Robinson Elementary School

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This article is about the Birmingham elementary school. For the Fairfield elementary school, see Robinson Elementary School (Fairfield).
Robinson Elementary School
1909 Robinson School.jpg
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 bcs.schoolwires.net

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 at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 84th Street in 1909 on behalf what was then the Town of East Lake. It was absorbed into Birmingham as part of the "Greater Birmingham" annexation that took effect on January 1, 1910. The six-classroom building was expanded in 1921 to with another six classrooms. The addition was designed by architect William Leslie Welton.

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.

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.

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.

Robinson's school colors were originally sky blue and red, and its teams used the nickname the "Rebels". Late it was 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.

Principals

References

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