Sad Farewell To A Local Middle School

Thursday, May 31st 2007, 8:06 pm

By: News On 6

It's the end of the year and the end of an era for one Tulsa middle school. Monroe Middle School closed its doors for good Thursday. News On 6 education reporter Ashli Sims reports the end of one school is the rebirth of another.

In the last hour of the day, students rush to say goodbye, get those yearbooks signed and get that last pep talk from teachers. But at Monroe Middle School, the final minutes truly are final.

"We certainly are sad that one more school is closing within our north Tulsa community," said Monroe Principal Jolly Meadows.

The Tulsa school board voted in April to close Monroe, because of its poor test scores. It's truly the end of an era. The school has stood here since 1958.

"I love Monroe,â€ said Monroe teacher Shirley Stidham. â€œI wanted to retire from Monroe, but that is not to be."

Stidham started at Monroe in the 70's. She's seen its many ups and downs, but for the most part the building really hasn't changed.

"And see next year would have been our 50th anniversary and I wanted to celebrate that, but I'm not going to get to do that either," Stidham said.

Even as teachers commemorate the old, Monroe's principal is pushing ahead with the new. She's going to take over as principal at Gilcrease, and she thinks it will be a smooth transition.

"Our students are going back to the school where they were last year,â€ Meadows said. â€œThey will have siblings in the school. They have siblings currently. So in a way, it's going home to them."

The school that was home for generations of students is now empty. And as students walk out for the last time and buses take their leave, so goes a piece of Tulsa's history.

Monroe was closed because it was on the federal needs improvement list for poor test scores for the sixth year. Those students will now attend Gilcrease. But it will still be a tough road, Gilcrease sixth-graders also did not meet state benchmarks last year, but Jolly Meadows says they're working to build a staff that truly wants to be at Gilcrease and will invest the time to get kids back on track.

Watch the video: Saying Goodbye To A Green Country Middle School