Former Dunbar principal speaks at school's reunion
Former Dunbar Elementary School principal Ethel Pauley-Jones will be the keynote speaker at the National Paul Laurence Dunbar High Alumni Association All School Reunion July 22-25 in Oakland, Calif.
Jones graduated from Dunbar High School in 1956 and became its principal from 1985 to 1993, making her the first black female principal in Texarkana.
Previously an all-black school, Dunbar students integrated into Texas High School in 1968, and the facility closed in 1969. It did not reopen as an elementary school until 1984.
The Alumni Association began in Texarkana in 1979 as a means of keeping former students, administrators and faculty connected, and has grown to include four chapters across the country. The National All School Reunion is held every two years, with each fourth year held in Texarkana.
In addition to being a retired public administrator, Jones has served on several boards and commissions, including Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, the Texarkana Civil Service Commission, as well as three Texas governors' advisory committees.
Jones also testified before the United States Civil Rights Commission, and has consulted for the Texas Education Agency in Austin, Texas, United States Office of Education and The Assault on Illiteracy Project in Washington, D.C.
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