River Oaks Elementary School (Houston)
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| Name |
River Oaks Elementary School |
| Address |
2008 Kirby Drive |
| City |
Houston, Texas 77019 |
| Established |
1928 |
| Community |
Urban |
| Type |
Public Elementary |
| Religion |
Secular |
| Students |
614 (2003-2004 school year) |
| Grades |
K to 5th |
| District | |
| Motto |
Where learning is elementary |
| Mascot |
Roadrunner |
| Website | |
River Oaks Elementary School is a magnet Vanguard school for the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, Texas, United States and functions as a neighborhood school for the River Oaks, Avalon Place, Oak Estates, and Royden Oaks neighborhoods in addition to being a Vanguard school.[1][2] Kelly McBride is the principal.
The school's motto is "Where discovery is elementary", shows that everything daily done at the school promotes learning (reflecting the fact that it teaches kindergarten to fifth grade). Its mascot is the roadrunner.
River Oaks Elementary School has an accelerated multidisciplinary curriculum. It became one of the first three elementary schools in Texas to get authorization for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (the primary school division of the IB program) during the 2002 - 2003 school year, and the curriculum was changed accordingly during the same school year.[3]
There were 602 students and 38 teachers in 2003. 83.4% of those students were in the Gifted and Talented program.
River Oaks Elementary has a "nature center", which opened in 1990, which has various plants as well as several insects and smaller animals in it.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] History
River Oaks Elementary was designed by architect Harry D. Payne and opened in 1928. As the school grew, more classrooms were added onto the school. First permanent additions were built. Later temporary buildings were set up on the school grounds.
River Oaks Elementary was originally an all-White school; it was desegregated in 1970. The "ESG" (Elementary School for the Gifted) program was established shortly afterwards.
River Oaks became exclusively a public magnet school in 1986. In 1996, parents from River Oaks, Oak Estates, Royden Oaks, and Avalon Place pressured the school into adding back a neighborhood program for grades kindergarten through 2 [4][5]. Grades 3 through 5 were grandfathered into the system. Prior to the rezoning, parts of the River Oaks neighborhood were zoned to Wilson Elementary School (in the Montrose neighborhood - which also served Avalon Place [6]), while other parts were zoned to Will Rogers Elementary School (which closed after the 2005-2006 school year - the school also served Royden Oaks[6]).
River Oaks Elementary celebrated its 75th anniversary in the 2003-2004 school year. Jeff Bezos, a River Oaks alumnus, spoke at a luncheon during this event.[7]
A new addition, which replaced temporary buildings, began construction during winter 2005 and was completed in summer 2007. The lead architect was Joiner Partnership, Incorporated, and the lead project manager was Heery International, Incorporated.
[edit] Feeder patterns
All students who are zoned to River Oaks[8] are also zoned to Lanier Middle School[9] and Lamar High School.[10]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com[7][11]
- John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus[7]
- Linda Ellerbee[12]
- Fred Hofheinz, former mayor of Houston.[7]
- A kidnap victim [13] (She attended River Oaks at the time Gary Dale Cox kidnapped her - she later escaped from her captor) [14][15]
[edit] References
- ^ "River Oaks Elementary School Attendance Boundary," Houston Independent School District. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
- ^ "Map." River Oaks Property Owners Association. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- ^ "April 2005." Southgate News. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "Class War." Houston Press.
- ^ "1996-1997 HISD ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES." Houston Independent School District
- ^ a b Feser, Catherine. "River Oaks still most prestigious." Houston Chronicle. Sunday August 7, 1994. Business 6. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Hodge, Shelby. "River Oaks fun is elementary." Houston Chronicle. Monday March 1, 2004. Houston Section, Page 1. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "River Oaks Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "Lanier Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "Lamar High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ Bayers, Chip (March 1990, Issue 7.03). "The Inner Bezos". Wired News. http://www.wirednews.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
- ^ "Distinguished HISD Alumni." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "River Oaks Elementary School Parents On Alert." KPRC-TV. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "11-Year-Old Texas Kidnapping Victim Safely Found." CNN. May 4, 2001. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ "77(R) HR 1235 Enrolled version - Bill Text." Texas Legislature Online
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- River Oaks Elementary School website
- River Oaks Parent Teacher Organization
- River Oaks Alumni
- Article on River Oaks' IB status
- Urban Harvest Garden page for River Oaks Elementary
- Houston Press Class War
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