Parks Elementary

Parks Logo Parks Elementary opened its doors at 3302 San Augustine Avenue in Pasadena in the fall of 1956 with A.V. Sitton as its principal. At its opening, the campus had 19 teachers who taught 405 students in grades first through sixth. Parks Elementary is named in honor of former Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees member, J.D. Parks. The campus, constructed on what had once served as Pasadena’s dump, included 26 classrooms, a cafeteria-auditorium combination, and several other amenities. However, when the campus opened its doors, only half of the school’s classrooms were approved for use, due to disputes between the Board of Trustees and the building’s contractors. To accommodate the students, every available space was turned into a classroom.

Six years after the campus opened in 1962, several additions were made to the building including six classrooms, restrooms, and a book room. Beginning in 1964, Parks no longer served students in the sixth grade and those students were sent to one of the district’s junior high schools. That same year, there were two sessions of Kindergarten classes, a morning session and an evening session. The campus was also home to new special education programs, one for partially sighted students called “Sight Saving Class” and another for partially deaf students. A few years later during the 1967-1968 school year, conditions became crowded again. Construction of the new McMasters Elementary, created to relieve crowding at Parks, was delayed and fifth-grade students at Parks Elementary were sent to San Jacinto Intermediate instead.

More recently in 1998, renovations were made to the campus that included an office area and foyer, nurse’s office, and teachers’ lounge, along with an updated jungle-themed cafeteria with new hallways to lead to the renovated space. A few years later in 2001, kindergarten classrooms were added, as well as additional music classrooms, a Parent Center, and an ACE room. Throughout the years, Parks has remained dedicated to the education of its students, winning STAAR Exemplary ratings in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, as well as STAAR Recognized ratings in 2000-2001, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. The school has also been recognized as a Model Conscious Discipline Campus.