History

1857
The town of Higley

Higley was named after Stephen Weaver Higley, born May 3, 1857, who was one of the early land owners in the area. In 1872, Stephen accepted a job offer from a Santa Fe railroad passenger.

 

Stephen is credited with the Santa Fe railroad line from Cadiz, California to Congress, Arizona. In 1905/1906, he bought more than 8,000 acres of land in the area believing it to be very fertile soil for farming.

 

The original Higley town site consisted of 40 acres, and is believed to have been donated by him.

 

 

 

 

On June 28, 1909, a group of parents in the Higley area delivered a petition to A.H. Fulton, the Maricopa County School Superintendent. The parents requested the formation of a school district for their children in the vicinity of Higley and including up to six miles of the surrounding agricultural area.

 

On July 1, 1909, Fulton forwarded the petition to the Maricopa County Board of supervisors with his recommendation that the board grant the request. On July 19, 1909, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors created Higley Elementary School District #60. The District boundaries originally included a large portion of the southeast Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area, but much of that was transferred to other districts over the years.

 

The first teacher that taught in Higley Elementary in 1909, was Nellie Martin Sirrine. The school territory records show Nellie M Sirrine taught from October 4, 1909 to April 22, 1910. In all 15 students ages 6 to 15 attended school when it opened in fall 1909.

 

By 1910, the school board had erected a small, one-room wooden schoolhouse on the northeast corner of Higley Road and Pecos Road.

 

 

 

 

In 1915, the board of Higley School District authorized construction of a new, brick school building on a different location with $6,000 in bonds. The bonds were sold at par and carried only six percent interest, which was considered very advantageous at the time.

 

The new, red brick, two room school building, was located on two acres on the north side of the railroad tracks, it was on the northeast corner of the 40-acre town site, half a mile north of Williams Field Road. The two-acre land was generously donated by the Town Site Company, W.P. Pleasant of Chandler was the contractor selected to build the school. The total building construction cost came to be $3,000. Higley School opened in the fall of 1915.

 

The first school board members of Higley were P.B. Werdon, Homer Owen and Mr. Raymond, who resigned before serving. Higley School District #60 encompassed a large area that included the Higley school and Rittenhouse school which is considered Queen Creek now.

 

 

 

 

 

The early days in Arizona, along with Texas, California and many other states, mandated the segregation of Mexican American students. School districts in Arizona often established separate “Mexican Schools” for Mexican American students.

 

In the late 20s through the early 40s, Higley school was segregated. The students met in a 1910 two-wooden frame room house where the Higley Traditional Academy library now sits. The wooden house was moved onto the Higley school property sometime during the early days, the exact date is unknown. The two rooms were for the Mexican and Native American children.

 

Archives show that in 1928 Higley had its first Mexican school class. The class was taught by Linda Hill, with an average of thirty students. The children ranged in age from 6 to 16. Common Spanish last names of students at the time were: Perez, Lopez, Ramirez, Contreras, Ruiz and Gonzalez.
Mary Tomas, age 9, was one of the students that attended Higley in the 20s. Her ethnic background was Papago Indian. Mary only went to school three months.

 

In 1938, Rocendo Martin attended Higley as a child during the segregated days. Rocendo had two siblings that attended Higley that same year: Joe and Manuel. In the early 80s Rocendo became one of Higley’s School Board Members.

 

The Martin kids attended Mrs. Wealthy B Martin’s class.

 

Rocendo remembered going to school in the two wooden frame room house in the back of the main school building. Mexican American students would sometimes go in the main building 100, normally to deliver a message to another teacher or to get something for their teacher.

 

The last school segregated register book that was found for Mexican Americans that attended Higley elementary, dated back to 1939. This shows that Higley segregated days ended in 1939, but nothing was written to back that date, so it cannot be confirmed.

1930s
Teachers and students

The two room school in the 1930s had two teachers that taught K-8. Elsie Owens taught the early grades in one room, and Belva Ridgeway taught the older grades in the other room. One family that attended Higley Elementary School in the 1930s were the Rebers.

 

The Reber children were: Meryl, Alvin, Leo, Lorin, Joyce, Lois May and Carolyn. The oldest, Meryl, played softball games against "the Rittenhouse," as Queen Creek was called then. Some of the students were heard by Miss Ridgeway calling Rittenhouse “Rottenhouse” as they drove to a game. She chastised them severely, telling them any future games would be cancelled if she heard that again. Unfortunately, there were some cancelled games after that.

 

The teachers lived in an apartment above the Grocery Store and Post office on the corner of Williams Field and Higley Roads. The pupils gave oral reports every Friday in front of the class and there were many plays, musicals and special programs performed for the parents.

 

Recess was enjoyed by all with ball games, jacks, marbles, steal the sticks, etc. There was no bus, kids would walk to school, and there was no cafeteria.
Joyce Reber, one of the children that attended Higley, remembers when they had to take sack lunches of embarrassing homemade bread and an orange from their citrus grove. There was no such delicacy as a banana.

 

On the days when no bread was available for sandwiches, mom drove over to the school with a hot lunch and all the kids had to climb into the back seat and eat in front of everyone. Joyce Reber later married Edward O. Nevitt and they moved to their farm in Queen Creek in 1956. They have continued to live in Queen Creek since then and raised their family there.

 

 

 

1954
School Building History

 

Archives date back to May 7, 1954, to a dedication held for building 200. This building addition in 1953 was a big deal for those that attended the 1954 dedication ceremony because building 200 was only the second brick building built since the main building in 1915. For many years, grades 1-3 and 6 met in this building.

On that same day of 1954, a time capsule was created, filled with appropriate items leading up to that day. Some of the items included a dedication program, the names of the students that attended Higley from first to eighth grade, the names of the teachers, the names of the parents and patrons that attended the dedication, and a typed poem from Claude Connell.

The time capsule was set into the NW corner of the west wing of the original main school building, behind a granite plaque. The items were uncovered from the time capsule sometime in 2000 when the old primary wing was torn down to make way for the new construction. The original documents are stored at the current district office.

In 1963 building 300 was constructed. Building 300 was mainly used for the cafeteria. In the late 70s, a part of the building was used for kindergarten.

 

 

 

 

Higley school days in 1964/1965 had grades first – eighth. There were 128 students in total. Kindergarten wasn't added until 1971. There were 13 staff members working on campus on a daily basis. Girls and boys basketball was enjoyed by those in the upper grades. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the fall of 1978, Roy McGee was principal and there was one teacher per grade. Ann Udall began teaching that same year in a portable building just to the west of the main buildings. The small portable building later served as the nurse’s office and even as a temporary administrative office when there was construction.

 

There were several portable buildings set up for the teachers. There was another portable building directly to the south of the other portable building which served as a classroom and a library. Michelle Young, another longtime Higley school teacher, taught in that building for many years. Later, it was used as a special education room.

 

Mr. Jim Moss arrived to Arizona from California in the late 70s, looking for work. Jim’s father was already working for the school. He was good friends with principal Roy McGee. As a result, Mr. Jim Moss and his wife, Mrs. Julia Moss, were hired and moved into the District. They lived on campus in the house to the south of the main building with their two children.

 

It had two bedrooms, one living room and one kitchen. The house was used in the late 20s through the late 30s as a Mexican school for Spanish speaking children and some Native American children in the segregated days.

 

To keep an eye on things, Jim and Julia lived there from 1977 until 1985. Sometime after 1985 the small house was projected to be torn down. Julia Moss recalls the building being very old and each door way and room was never the same size.

 

Mr. Moss served as the school janitor and maintenance worker, with additional various duties. He helped maintain the school buildings, vehicles and yard, while Mrs. Julia Moss worked at the cafeteria.

 

The winter 1989, Mr. and Mrs. Moss left the school for about 11 years. In 2000, Mrs. Julia Moss was hired to work back at the school. Three years later Mr. Moss passed away and Julia continued to work at the school despite her loss. She retired in 2013.

 

 

 

1982
Country School

 

Carolyn Fairall began teaching at Higley in 1982, retiring in 2007. She taught for 10 years before joining Higley.

Back then, Higley “was a little country school way out in the boonies,” Fairall said. “We were surrounded by cotton fields, grape vineyards, dairy farms.” She recalled being late for school a couple of times because sheep were being herded down the road and she couldn’t get around them.

It was a “little brick school surrounded by cotton fields.” The floors in her classroom were wooden, and there were large windows. The school's bell tower was rung when it was time to go to class. “I don’t even think the road was paved in front of the school,” Fairall said. “The first buildings had evaporative cooling. We had to anchor paper down to keep it from blowing.”

Throughout the years, Fairall spent most of the time as a third grade teacher, but she also taught first, sixth and fourth-fifth combo. In addition, she coached girls and boys basketball.

 

 

 

1983
A new beginning

 

Picture 1: Students posing for the 1983 school year book   Picture 2: Principal Larry Likes

 

The start of the growing phase began with Superintendent and Principal Larry Likes. In 1983, Likes replaced Barbara Roskell, who moved to California with her husband when he retired from the military.

“Always arriving early, our principal, Mr. Likes, might write the daily staff bulletin, start school, deal with administrative matters, sub in a classroom for an hour, teach band, supervise a construction project and drive the bus all in one day. Not unusual for most of us, for our days were just as crazy. However, we knew what it was like to walk in each other’s shoes, and that brought us closer,” said Vicki Simer, Higley teacher in 1985-2012.

By 1983, there were seven different athletic classes held on campus for volleyball, soccer, basketball, track and softball. There were nine teachers in total and 14 staff members. Much work needed to be done to keep the school building up to date with the different fire codes. A lot of repairs and remodeling took place to help accommodate students and keep the school in session.

 

 

1984
Major Renovation

 

 

Main building 100 was part of a multi-building school campus that had buildings constructed between 1915 and 2000. The 1985-1986 school yearbook began its introduction with “the year of construction and remodeling.” The picture above shows Mr. Laird Taylor from the 1985 school yearbook, who was on the Chairperson Citizen Advisory Council, opened the Ground Breaking Ceremony along with the Board of Education.

In 1984 and 1985, major renovations took place on campus. The main building went through a complete make over. Anodized aluminum windows were installed in the exterior parts of the building that closely resembled the original wood sash windows.

Part of the major renovation included the finishing construction phase of building 400. “School was delayed a week that year as the 400 building wasn’t quite finished. There was only one teacher per grade level at the time, and each of us had to get on the phone to tell parents about the school delay,” said Vicki Simer.

In that same year, there were 175 students attending Higley Elementary School, a K-8 campus. The budget of $590,000 was adequate to maintain educational programs for the kindergarten through eighth-grade school, but more was needed for additions to be made.

“We just don’t have the enrollment now to do what we want, yet. We need a plan before the growth hits. We’re expecting rapid development in two years,” Larry Likes said in an old newspaper article from The Phoenix Gazette. Most high school-aged children attended classes in Gilbert or Chandler.

Bilingual teachers were assigned to kindergarten and first grade to help children from other cultures adjust to using English. Even before the late 90s, there were bilingual aides who would help throughout the school for those that didn’t speak English. The students were from surrounding rural areas.
Several lived on farms or horse properties. Many were minority children, the sons and daughters of humble migrant workers or dairy farm workers. Some students only spoke Spanish. Some understood English, but couldn’t read or write the langauge.

The community consisted of a diverse population of Mexicans, Indians, Blacks and Anglos. Even still, there were only 11 teachers and most of them had more than one duty. “We had limited resources and every teacher had an additional job, such as being the first grade teacher and home economics teacher, or the second grade teacher and also the art teacher,” said Michelle Young. Despite the hard work juggling several tasks, teachers were very happy in school and in their positions.

 

 

 

1987
The Growing Phase Part I 

 

In January 1987, Higley Elementary School had 30 students that attended special education classes with Michelle Young. Michelle remembers the school being surrounded by three cotton fields.

Since Higley was mainly made up of farmers, many children came from families who worked in the fields as dairy workers. “I remember very well in teacher meetings Larry showing us the growth that was to come and we did not believe him. He showed us how he was handling the growth and planning for new schools and obtaining the land,” said Young.

By 1988, Higley School had 203 students enrolled in grades kindergarten-eighth grade. The average class size was 17. Class sizes ranged from 13 to 28 students. There were a total of 12 certified staff members and 15 classified staff members.

 

 

 

1989
The Library

 

In 1989, a library was built, making it building 800.

A special activity took place after the library was built. Principal Larry Likes, wanted all the children and staff to participate in the moving of the books from the old 1983 modular building where Ann Udall worked as a librarian to the new library building. One morning, students and teachers formed a long line from the old library building to the new one.

Each person passed a book to the next until all the books were in place. Teachers called it the “book brigade.” Since it was the largest building that the school could then meet in, it was used for board meetings, community gatherings and programs.

During that time, building 900 was constructed and a concrete porch was put in on the south side of the main building.

In 2006, over the summer, members of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization painted the walls of the library in shades of blue and Merrie Cox added a mural of three children reading. Literary quotes, such as the Latin proverb “Great oaks from little acorns grow,” also adorned the walls.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1990, superintendent Larry Likes filed an Arizona State Historic Property Inventory, mentioning the description of the school at the time: “The building is constructed of brick and mortar with some stucco on the back or south of the building.

An enlarged concrete porch on the south side of the building was constructed in 1989. The exterior of the building is a two tone painted surface. The interior of the building consists of two classrooms, a nurse’s office, an outer secretarial office, two administrative offices, and a conference room. The building also contains three restrooms, a shower, and two small treatment rooms for the nurse’s office. The building is now carpeted throughout.”

Unfortunately building 100 was not accepted as an Arizona State Historic Property because the school windows were not the original windows. The windows were replaced sometime in 1984 due to maintenance issues.

Many memories took place on the porch constructed in 1989 on building 100. Several events took place outside school buildings because of tight space and the large number of students.

The porch on many occasions acted as a stage for events like school graduations. Students sat on the porch of the main building and the audience sat in the courtyard under the night sky. Speakers sometimes had to stop for 5 to 10 minutes while the train went past.

“One year, the porch area was still under construction and the graduation ceremony was held in the field with the graduating students seated on the back of a flatbed trailer,” said Vicki Simer.

“At least once a week, we met out in the patio area in the back around a flag pole. Announcements were given and we had a brief flag salute ceremony. Sometimes, we would get interrupted by jets flying over the school, since Williams Air Force was still a going project,” said Ann Udall.

Sheep fed amoung the surrounding school pastures, loud noices next to children performing, with only a small wire fence separating the school and the animals.

That following year, 1990, another major change took place in Higley. The school's mascot, once called the Higley Hornets, became the Higey Hawks.

 

 

The Growing Phase
Part II

In 1999, there were approximately 260 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade, with one administrator, fifteen teachers and nine teacher aides. With the increase in families moving into the area, the numbers swelled dramatically.

This hardship on a small rural school with little tax base led to the approval of the School Board to be the sponsorship of record for 26 Charter Schools throughout the state.

The fees resulting from this helped the District cope with the rising enrollment and little money. In addition, the School Facility Board in the current session approved the funding to build two K-8 schools and an addition to the existing school.

In 1999, voters approved the unification of the district and Higley Unified School District was officially born.

 

 

 

Picture 1: Main building 100 demolition  Picture 3: Main Building 100 demolition facing library building 

The original bell tower and bell from building 100 was still intact and in working condition in 2000. In total, six building additions were made: 1953, 1963, 1985, 1989 and 2000.

Higley School District opened Coronado Elementary in 2000 as its second school. Higley Elementary in 1947 was the only school in the District for 53 years after Queen Creek (district #94) seperated from Higley and became its own School District.

Currently the oldest buildings left standing are buildings 400 (1985), building 900 (1989) and the library (1989). In 2000 building 100, known as the oldest school building in Higley, was torn down, along with buildings 200 and 300.

Building 100 was rebuilt and three new buildings were added that same year: 500, 600 and 700.

The only remains of the 1915 school building is the bell from the origional bell tower and a cornerstone.

 

In 2005, Higley middle school students wanted to be recognized. The student council president, Travis Walker, and other students asked Higley School Board if the name of the school could officially be changed.

After a presentation, the board unanimously agreed to let Higley Elementary become Higley Elementary and Middle School. Eighth grade students also designed the school's flag. The designer of the winning flag was Travis Schaffer. The flag included a hawk, a mountain, fire, and a sunset.

The school yearbook of 2005 shows a large change in the number of teachers, administration and many new students.

There are also photos of construction on campus where roads were torn up and buildings were fenced off for remodeling.

 

 

 

In 2010, Higley Elementary and Middle School celebrated its 100 years as a school.

 

 

 

Higley Elementary to Higley Traditional Academy

By 2013, Higley Elementary was converted to the Higley Traditional Academy. The school’s conversion to a traditional academy for students in kindergarten to sixth grade involved some significant changes. 

For students and teachers, changes included the new arrangement of desks, uniforms, and a new curriculum for Spalding reading, writing, and spelling, as well as Saxon math.

In addition, math was accelerated by one year, which meant that kindergarteners learned what was currently considered first grade math, while first graders learned second-grade math, and so on.

In 2013-2014, the district opened its first middle schools, leading to the conversion of all elementary schools grades K-6.