Principal Kellee Murrell, Wayland Walker, Susan Solomon, Julie Jodie, Debbie Alspaw, Meg Henderson, Librarian Dorette Putonti and Gabby Enriquez
Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet staff members treated the Lake Highlands Women’s League disbursements committee to a tour Tuesday to give thanks for the League’s recent donation. Sixth graders traveled to Clear Lake for a hands-on tour of NASA and to Houston for a visit to the Museum of Natural Science and the downtown Aquarium thanks, in part, to the League’s check for $1,250.
“Some of these kids have never been out of town before,” said Joanne Paulman, who accompanied her 94 charges on the trip. “It was truly life-changing. They learned so much in those two days.”
Guiding our campus tour was Wayland Walker, Community Liaison for the school. He, along with Community Liaison Gabby Enriquez, showed us HPPM’s facilities, including updated computer lab, library, classrooms, gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria.
Walker especially brightened when we stopped for a moment at the school’s historical display. Hamilton Park was originally a twelve-grade school, he reminded, segregated for African-Americans only. He showed us vintage photos from the early days, including the 1961 senior prom and the Hamilton Park High School drill team. We also saw vintage pics of a Tuskegee airman (the dad of an HPPM grad) and other memorabilia designed to inspire and uplift young minds.
The school was built to serve the population of Hamilton Park, created as an all-black subdivision in the 1950s to deal with Dallas’ black housing shortage. When black neighborhoods were demolished for the expansion of Love Field and black homes were bombed in South Dallas, philanthropist and theater magnate Karl Hoblitzelle made arrangements for the financing of Hamilton Park’s development. The subdivision was named for black civic leader and physician Dr. Richard T. Hamilton.
Today, HPPM is fully desegregated – half of the kids are drawn from the neighborhood and half are recruited from across Richardson ISD as “magnet” students. The student/teacher ratio is low, capped at 20:1 compared to other RISD schools at 22 for K-4 or 28 for grades 5-6, and students may arrive as early as 7 a.m. and stay as late as 6 p.m. for additional programming. Working parents, he says, find this a big plus. Desire for a spot on HPPM’s rolls stays high.
After a short Google search, I noted that Walker stays busy interacting with neighborhood churches and civic groups, sharing the good news about HPPM. Women’s League members left motivated to find a new fundraiser.
Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet is located at 8301 Towns Street, near 75 and Forest Lane.
