S.W. Snowden Elementary School
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S.W. Snowden Elementary School is a school located in Aurora, Beaufort County, North Carolina. It currently teaches grades pre-kindergarten to 8th grade.
History
Two schools
Since 1909 there were several small schools for both blacks and whites in the Aurora area of Beaufort County. In 1915 a school for whites was built in Aurora. In 1916 Aurora got its first black school which had land purchased for it in 1914 and it was called the Aurora School. In 1923 the first Aurora High School was built. In 1928 Aurora High School added a gym. Also, in 1928 all of the small black county schools came together to form a new Aurora school. In 1932 Aurora High School added vocational education to its curriculum. From 1941-43 construction was done on the new comprehensive Aurora School that included a high school. In 1949 the Aurora School added agriculture and shop buildings. A new white high school was built in 1952. In 1955 the Aurora School added new classrooms and a library. In 1964 the still standing gym was built and in 1966 the still standing lunchroom was built. In the 1960s the new kindergarten to twelfth grade white Aurora High School was built.
These two schools were located on the same town block.
One School
In 1966 the Aurora School and Aurora High School merged to serve both blacks and whites. The Aurora School campus served grades kindergarten to 8th grade, and Aurora High served grades 9-12. In 1970 the Aurora School was renamed for S.W. Snowden who was a dedicated principal from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1992 S.W. Snowden received a new library. Southside High School was created in 1999 and Aurora High School students began attending Southside. Aurora High School was renamed Aurora Middle School as sixth, seventh and eighth graders from S.W. Snowden now attended Aurora Middle School. In 2007, S.W. Snowden was closed and an addition was made to Aurora Middle School to house pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. At this point Aurora Middle School was renamed S.W. Snowden. The old Gator mascot was changed to The Mighty Trojans.
Milestones
- In 1930 the school year was extended from 4 to 6 months.
- In 1934 students in the county started using buses.
- In 1945 twelfth grade was added to schools.
- In 1965 the county started the kindergarten program.
- In 1988 pre-kindergarten programs were added.
- In 1990 all classrooms were air conditioned.