Located in the Magnolia Park neighborhood of Houston's East End, Gallegos Elementary School educates approximately 600 children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in monolingual as well as bilingual classrooms. A member of Houston's Independent School District (HISD), Gallegos was an underperforming elementary school for much of the early 2000s. Hired as principal in 2006, Dr. Xochitl Rodriguez-Davila quickly changed this reality. Gallegos became a Texas Education Agency "exemplary" campus for the first time in 2008-09 as 70% of students passed each TAKS test. Rodriguez-Davila's partnership with Teach For America was a pivotal factor in this tremendous turnaround. From 2007-2009, nine Teach For America corps members began working for Gallegos. In addition, Gallegos became a school at which new corps members taught summer school during Teach For America's summer institute.
Current principal, Margarita Gardea, considers Teach For America a critical factor in the school's success. Today, eight corps members and alumni teach in and hold leadership positions at the school, including Crystal Smith (Houston '04), the instructional coordinator and assistant principal. Daya Cozzolino (Houston '08) serves as a teaching coach, Ben Glover (Houston '08) is the fifth grade team lead and science content lead, and Karin Espinosa (Houston '09) coaches cheerleading.
Houston's first free public schools are established.
District Court Judge Connally labels the Houston School Board's desegregation plan a "palpable sham and subterfuge." He orders desegregation to commence in all first grades in September 1960 and to proceed at one grade per year thereafter. When the city complies, restrictions are so severe that few residents benefit. Thus, six years after the historic Supreme Court decision, only 12 of the city's 46,000 black children enjoy its benefits.
In May, segregation issues reach near crisis levels. Led by the NAACP, 85% of black students boycott five black high schools to protest the slow pace of integration. In July, after a warning from the Justice Department, the school board votes four to three to integrate all grades by 1967 and seek federal aid for Houston's schools.
In August, the Justice Department files suit against the Houston School District, charging that they are continuing to operate segregated facilities. The suit contends that segregation involves Mexican Americans as well as blacks.
In September, Mexican Americans boycott of Houston's public schools and set up all-Mexican American "hulga" schools. Boycotters demands include being treated as a separate ethnic minority with special problems and not being included with blacks or any other group.
Two teachers, Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg, launch KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) as a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston after completing their commitment to Teach For America.
Founded by Teach For America alumnus Chris Barbic, YES Prep begins as a district charter school program called "Project YES" in Houston's East End community.
Lee Brown, the son of Oklahoma share croppers, becomes the first African American mayor of Houston.
Thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors move to Houston and nearly 6,000 children from the New Orleans area enroll in HISD schools.
HISD launches Apollo 20, a program to transform 20 of the district’s most struggling schools.
Annise Parker is elected in Houston and becomes the first openly gay mayor of a large American city.
YES Prep Public Schools wins the inaugural Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools; HISD is named a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education.
Spring Branch ISD, KIPP, and YES Prep form a collaborative effort called the SKY Partnership that will provide for school-within-school district / charter collaboration.
Copyright 2012 Teach For America, Inc. All rights reserved
Teach For America logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Teach For America, Inc.
Teach For America was named one of America's top 100 Ideal Employers in Universum's 2011 American Student Survey.
Teach For America was named one of Fortune magazine's top 100 employers to work for.
Teach For America thanks our National Partners for their generous support.
