Rose Hill school renamed for prominent black Texarkana educator Theron Jones.
The Rose Hill community of Texarkana, Texas, had something to celebrate Wednesday, as a division of the Texarkana Independent School District was renamed.
About 150 people turned out for the renaming of the 15th Street Early Literacy Center as the Theron Jones Early Literacy Center..
TISD Superintendent Dr. Larry Sullivan said TJELC is “a shining star” in TISD, and calls the renaming “long overdue.”
Theron Jones was a prominent black educator and attorney in Texarkana, and served as the principal of Dunbar High School from 1927 until his death in 1935.
The elementary school was built in 1949 at its current location, 2600 W. 15th St. At the time, it was named Theron Jones Elementary School in recognition of Jones’ dedication to education in Texarkana. But in the mid-60s schools were renamed based on location and the historical name was lost.
The return of Jones’ name to the school was made possible by many community leaders, including community leader and businesswoman Bess Gamble-Williams. She was a student at the school when it bore Theron Jones’ moniker, and was instrumental in getting his name returned.
During the dedication ceremony Gamble-Williams said she was passionate about the project because she had grown up in that neighborhood.
After school, she joined the Marine Corps, then retired and returned to Texarkana. Unaware that the name had been changed, she discovered the modification while showing her children around the area where she grew up and attended school.
“Right there my heart sank,” she said. “That was a piece of my history that was gone. To come back and find that that was taken from me—this wonderful, historical, cultural landmark—I was saddened.”
Gamble-Williams began working the channels, contacting members of the community to find out how to restore the original name. School officials told her it would take a petition with 100 signatures to get the ball rolling. So earlier this year, Gamble-Wiliams and her children walked door-to-door in the neighborhoods surrounding the school.
When their petitioning was done, they had gathered over 400 signatures in support of the name change. In August, the TISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to pass the proposal.
Jennell Ingram, principal of TJELC, said Wednesday’s dedication was for “remembering the journey of a man who believed in the importance of education, and the responsibility he had as an African-American educator to the youth of his community.”
“Because of his educational efforts, today we have come full circle,” Ingram said. “We are pleased to be a part of restoring his name to this campus.”
The new sign on the grassy lawn was unveiled to show the school’s new name emblazoned below the electric green eyes of the TISD tiger mascot. The sign is also significant as it is the prototype for newly designed signs that will soon appear at all TISD campuses.
Some members of the Jones family attended the renaming and dedication ceremony. Roland Jones said he is proud to see his father’s name once more representing the school.
“I’m so happy, not so much for ourselves, but what it means to the history of the Texarkana, Texas, school system and to (the city).”
In culmination of such a meaningful dream becoming reality, a TJELC preschooler, 4-year-old Shakoya Aubrey, recited a Langston Hughes poem entitled “Dreams.”
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow,” Aubrey recited.
