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Kealing Junior High School Students and moontower

1607 Pennsylvania Ave, Austin, TX 78702

Kealing Junior High School
Kealing Junior High School
FP.K.5.C.51, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Black lady with moontower
Black lady with moontower
FP.K.C.144, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Kealing Junior High School opened in the fall of 1930 as the first junior high school for African-American students in Austin, named posthumously for Hightower Theodore Kealing (1859-1918), an African-American educator, writer, editor and activist in Austin in the 19th century. The first principal was Professor I.Q. Hurdle, who served from 1930 to 1939. When enrollment increased, the school expanded into the former Anderson High School in 1954. The two buildings, known as East Kealing and West Kealing, were joined in 1962. Principal T.C. Calhoun then led Kealing until 1971, when the school was closed as part of Austin’s desegregation efforts.

After serving as an annex for the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and community programs, Kealing’s building was devastated by fire in 1983. A new Kealing Junior High was built and opened in 1986. In 1993, the rigorous math and science magnet program multiplied to include a focal point at the liberal arts as well. In the fall of 2004, Kealing opened its sixth grade program and became a middle school.

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