Crockett Elementary in McAllen celebrates 60th anniversary

McALLEN - Some of Crockett Elementary’s teachers are alumni of the campus, and many of the school’s students have parents — even grandparents — who attended Crockett when they were children.

So it was fitting Friday that the school celebrated its 60th anniversary with its neighbors. The school hosted an assembly in the morning that included representatives from the McAllen school district and the city of McAllen, as well as alumni. That evening, Crockett hosted an anniversary bash for students and their families.

Crockett’s cafeteria/auditorium was decorated with peace symbols and hearts made of brightly colored paper — part of the 1960s theme the school chose for the event. The guests and the school’s 300-plus students crowded into the space to hear from alumni and watch their peers perform.

McAllen City Commissioner John Ingram and School Board President Richard Moore said they remembered students walking and riding their bicycles to Crockett every day because many of them lived near the campus.

“The cafeteria, to me, always had a kind of a smell to it,” Moore said. “It’s a good memory. I’ve always looked forward to lunch. And … people would always ask me when I was in elementary school what was my favorite subject. It was lunch and recess.”

But Moore, as well as the other former students who spoke, said they also remembered their teachers and how they cared about them.

“Your teachers care so much for you,” he said. “They worry about you. They want to make sure that you’re learning and that you’re developing the skills that you need to continue to grow and move through your grades.”

Ismael Perez, who is now a kindergarten teacher at Donna Wernecke Elementary School in the Sharyland school district, and Rosita Herrera, who now works as an evaluation clerk at South Texas College, told students how their teachers at Crockett helped them reach their goals of finishing school and going to college despite the challenges they faced.

Perez was originally placed in special education classes when he attended the school about 20 years ago, he said. But his teachers realized he could be in a regular class and helped him get placed in a regular classroom.

“I thank them for that,” he said.

Dina Enriquez, who teaches a bilingual pre-kindergarten class at Crockett, attended the campus as a student in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Like those who spoke at the assembly, Enriquez said in an earlier interview that her teachers had a big influence in her life and inspired her to become a teacher as well.

“I would always play school with my cousins,” said Enriquez, who has two children attending Crockett now.

“I don’t see myself working anywhere else,” she said.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.