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Angelina Torres, a graduating fifth grader at Port Houston Elementary School is comforted by a classmate during a gathering on the last day of the school in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. Torres read a letter for the event she wrote in honor of the school and what it ment to her over the years. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Port Houston Elementary School teacher Belen Rivas hugs a fellow teacher during the school\u2019s last day in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. Rivas has been teaching at the school for six years.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Port Houston Elementary School in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Port Houston Elementary School teacher Belen Rivas hugs a student during the school\u2019s last day in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. Rivas has been teaching at the school for six years.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The marquis for Port Houston Elementary School in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Alumni, students, parents and teachers become emotional during Port Houston Elementary School\u2019s gathering on the last day of the school in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Iliana Delcid, 8, right, is comforted by a classmate during Port Houston Elementary School\u2019s gathering on the last day of the school in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Port Houston Elementary School principal Jenn Martinez addresses parents, alumni and students during the school\u2019s gathering on the last day in Houston on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The school has been open since 1901 and HISD decided to close the school after this school year.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Black families moved to Independence Heights, the first incorporated African American municipality in Texas, in the early 1900s, and by 1911 a two-room school opened on East 39th to educate their children.<\/p>\n
That eventually became\u00a0Burrus Elementary, which received a state historical marker<\/a> in 2023 during a major community\u00a0celebration. This June, however, the historic campus closed for good\u00a0alongside 11 other schools<\/a> in the largest mass closure<\/a> of HISD campuses in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they feel like that is definitely a slap in the face to the community \u2014 a disrespect to the community,\u201d said State Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson, a Democrat whose district includes the school.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Each school has rich histories and unique identities, which their communities scrambled to honor at farewell celebrations before the last day of school. With\u00a0Spark Parks<\/a> and decades of memories, communities felt the schools served as more than just buildings for generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n In February, community members said they felt blindsided<\/a> when HISD\u2019s state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles announced the district would close 12 schools<\/a> due to aging facilities and declining enrollment \u2014 months after he pledged not to close any campuses for the upcoming school year. The district created legacy committees intended to honor and preserve the history and culture at each closing school.<\/p>\n TIMELINE: See HISD\u2019s major school closures over the past 20 years as more campuses face shutdowns<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In Independence Heights, the historical marker did not save\u00a0Burrus because markers recognize the school\u2019s history \u201cbut (do) not protect the building or its current use,\u201d according to the Texas Historical Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it’s a legacy … it has a lot of people who have come through there,\u201d said Burrus alumna Valiree Tates, 69. \u201cYou have a lot of successful people that have gone on to really excel in life.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘It kind of snuck up on us’<\/p>\n Burrus\u2019 history goes back to 1911, when a petition to Harris County Commissioners Court led to the opening of a two-room schoolhouse on East 39th Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the city\u2019s population reached over 600 people by 1915<\/a>, community leaders built a new campus nearby on East 33rd Street in 1928.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Burrus Elementary School in Independence Heights is shown in Houston, Tuesday, March 17, 2026.<\/p>\n Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Mardie Paige, 70, the area\u2019s super-neighborhood president, said she encouraged people to speak at HISD board meetings to try and save the campus.<\/p>\n She knew HISD had considered closing Burrus<\/a>\u00a0in the early 2010s<\/a>. This year, HISD\u2019s state-appointed board of managers took only two weeks<\/a> to approve the proposed closure, leaving little time for the community to oppose\u00a0the plan. Paige thinks if Burrus hadn\u2019t been part of a mass closure, it could have been saved.\u00a0<\/p>\n WAIVER: TEA retroactively approved certification waiver for Houston ISD’s Mike Miles on last day of school year<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of snuck up on us,\u201d Paige said. \u201cNo one told us that Burrus was closing until the last minute, so we couldn’t work toward saving Burrus.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In August, students from Burrus and the 11 other closing campuses will be reassigned to new schools<\/a> \u2014 most of which are located farther from their homes, with distinct identities and often lower academic ratings than their original school.<\/p>\n New roots<\/p>\n Like Burrus, Franklin Elementary traces its roots to the early 1910s. Originally named Magnolia Park Public School, the campus has served the broader East End community ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every time Mireya Aguirre dropped her daughter off at Franklin, she remembered her own years as a student there.\u00a0Aguirre said the campus\u2019 staff inspired her to volunteer there even after her daughter left for middle school. The school\u2019s playground often fills with families in the evenings and on weekends, serving as the community\u2019s unofficial hub.<\/p>\n HISD Franklin Elementary School is visible Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 in Houston.<\/p>\n Kirk Sides\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n Franklin was A-rated in 2025. Next school year, students will be sent to Gallegos Elementary, which received a B in the state\u2019s accountability ratings.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the sad part as well,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cThe school is an A-rated school. Why choose that one to close down instead of one that’s maybe not doing so well? \u2026 It still doesn’t make sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Neighborhood changes<\/p>\n The Magnolia Park neighborhood will lose a second school, Briscoe Elementary, and its nearby Spark Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Like other closing campuses and the district as a whole, it has lost enrollment<\/a> \u2014 one-third of its student body since 2019 \u2014 and had just 178 students in 2025-26.<\/p>\n Briscoe Elementary School is photographed in Houston, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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