Dunbar Magnet Middle School

Dunbar Gifted/Talented International Studies Magnet Middle School
Location
Little Rock , Arkansas, USA
Information
Type	Public
Established	1929
School district	Little Rock School District
Principal	Eunice Thrasher
Grades	6-8
Number of students	811 (2005-6)
Color(s)	Purple and Gold
Mascot	Bobcats
Website	Dunbar Magnet Middle School [1] Dunbar Magnet Middle School's Home Page
File:Dunbar Magnet Middle.jpg

Dunbar Gifted & Talented International Studies Magnet Middle School is a magnet middle in Little Rock, Arkansas and administered by the Little Rock School District. Dunbar opened in 1929 and was named for Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), the first African-American poet to gain worldwide recognition.

History

After Little Rock Central High School was completed in 1927, School Board member G. DeMatt Henderson, Sr., believed that a new high school for African-American students also should be built. He went to Chicago at his own expense and secured a grant from Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald to help fund the construction of this new school. The Julius Rosenwald Fund financed, among other projects, the construction of nearly 5,000 schools for African-Americans in the South. (Many of the "Rosenwald schools" have vanished, and many more either are abandoned or are functioning in other capacities. Dunbar is distinctive as a thriving, prospering educational facility that has adapted to its community [a segregated school, an integrated school and now a magnet school]). This new school originally was named the Negro School of Industrial Arts and was a junior-senior high school that offered general education, trade classes and college preparatory courses. It opened in 1929, and its official dedication took place on April 14, 1930. It also housed Dunbar Junior College in one wing. The school served as an outstanding facility for African-American education in Arkansas; students from all over the state lived with relatives or friends in Little Rock so they could receive a quality education at Dunbar.

According to the Sanborn fire insurance maps, Dunbar was built on the same city block as the old Gibbs High School (Gibbs was on the corner of 18th and Ringo, and Dunbar sat on the corner of Wright and Ringo). The old Gibbs Elementary School was just to the west of the high school on the same block, approximately where Dunbar's gym now stands. The present-day Gibbs Elementary School stands on the corner of Cross and 16th Street, two blocks north of the old elementary school. The old high school was still standing as late as 1939 (unknown when it was torn down). Six city blocks ultimately were combined between Cross and Chester streets, 16th Street and Wright Avenue to form one unified parcel of land that now includes the new Gibbs Elementary School, Dunbar, the Dunbar Community Center, the Dunbar Community Garden, athletic fields and the Sue Cowan Williams Library.

Dunbar was fortunate to have Charlotte Andrews Stephens, the first African-American teacher in Little Rock and the educator who possessed the longest tenure with Little Rock schools (60 years), on staff as librarian and occasional English and Latin teacher prior to her retirement (Stephens Elementary is named after her). The combination of the modern physical facility, an outstanding faculty and a rigorous academic curriculum resulted in Dunbar receiving accreditation from the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges in 1931. A majority of white schools did not have North Central accreditation at this time, so it was a tremendous boon for Dunbar to earn that recognition of excellence.

In the 1940s, African-American educators in Little Rock grew more and more unhappy with the fact that their salaries were lower than those of white teachers. The NAACP's Thurgood Marshall and Susie Morris, a teacher at Dunbar High School, sued the Little Rock School District for equal pay with white teachers. Attorneys Scipio Jones and J.R. Booker also were involved in this landmark case (Booker Arts Magnet Elementary is named after Booker). Arkansas courts ruled against Morris, but the U.S. Appeals Court overturned that ruling in 1945.

The National Dunbar Alumni Association (NDAA) is comprised of members (former students and teachers) around the country who promote educational, civic and social interests. Local chapters of the national association are based in Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington, DC. NDAA members are dedicated to perpetuating the "Dunbar spirit of excellence" in their own lives and the lives of others and to preserving Dunbar's history for future generations. The school houses NDAA's Memorabilia Room that preserves artifacts and memories from Dunbar's early years.

This fine old building played a major role in Little Rock's history, and the National Register of Historic Places recognized that role when it added the school to its ranks in 1980. Additions were made to the school in 1952, 1965-66 and 1969. A major refurbishment/addition was completed in 2004, including classroom renovations, a gymnasium renovation/rebuild and a new media center.

Dunbar was converted from a junior/senior high to a junior high school in 1955 (after the completion of the new Horace Mann High School) and became a magnet school in 1990, offering a magnet program in international studies. It also offers a special program for gifted and talented students. Dunbar was recognized as a "Magnet School of Distinction" by the Magnet Schools of America in 2004.

Recent events and accomplishments

• Dunbar's Gifted and Talented International Studies programs enhance the standard middle school curriculum. All students participate in the International Studies program by taking at least one of the foreign language interdisciplinary electives each year.

• Gifted and Talented students take an accelerated curriculum in math, science, social studies and English. More than 25 electives and over 30 activity clubs add to Dunbar's outstanding program.

• Dunbar PTSA was honored with the Phoebe Apperson Hearst National PTA Excellence in Education Partnership Award in both 2003 (Mentoring) and 2005 (Dunbar Garden).

• Math Counts Team: 2002 - 3rd in Region and one student was 3rd in state and competed in national competition; 2003 - We had second team in the region and 3rd in state; 2004 - We had second in region, second in state and had two students compete in national's; 2005 - We were the 3rd team in region.

• Dunbar was the first school in Little Rock to receive the National PTA School of Excellence Award.

• Dunbar's staff have received numerous staff awards including the prestigious Milken Educator Award received by Kristy Kidd in 2003.

• Dunbar continues to win numerous awards at Worldfest taking 3rd place in 2003, winning best overall in 2004 and first place in 2005.

References

• LRSD archives
• National Dunbar Alumni Association
• American Institute of Architects website, Dunbar High School historical page
• "University President Speaks at Dunbar Opening." The Arkansas News, Old State House website
• The University of Dayton's Paul Laurence Dunbar webpage
• "African-Americans, Early 20th Century." People and Their Stories page, Department of Arkansas Heritage website
• Sanborn fire insurance maps of Little Rock, Arkansas, showing location of original Gibbs High School and Gibbs Elementary School
• Closed College Index, Arkansas

External Links

• Dunbar Magnet Middle School
• Little Rock School District