Breaking new ground
TISD to hold ceremony for start of new elementary school project
The new elementary school and fine arts academy that was approved by voters in May will be named in honor of Temple educators Cornelius Sampson and Durwood and Jean Howard. Sampson-Howard is expected to open in fall 2024.
Sampson-Howard Elementary will be district’s art focused academy
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
Temple Independent School District will break ground on a new arts-related elementary school at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the corner of Old Highway 95 and Barnhardt Road.
Sampson-Howard Elementary School will have a fine arts focus — it will be a typical elementary but also offer theater and orchestra programs. The building will house 42 classrooms and will be the educational home for an estimated 800 kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
It will be the first elementary school built in Temple ISD since Garcia, Kennedy-Powell and Raye-Allen all opened in 1998.
The arts-focused elementary school was funded through a $38.2 million bond approved by Temple ISD voters in 2022.
The name of the new elementary school will honor the legacies of Temple native, principal and innovator, Cornelius Carl Sampson, and long-time Temple High School teachers, Durward and Jean Howard.
The names were selected from a list of nominees submitted by members of the Temple community.
“It is an absolute privilege to honor these individuals and their legacies,” said Dan Posey, president of the TISD school board.
“Cornelius Carl Sampson’s contributions to education have had a lasting impact, not only on Temple, but on people across the state of Texas,” Posey said. “It is also very fitting that a school that will serve as a fine arts academy bear the names of Durward and Jean Howard who profoundly enhanced fine arts for the students of Temple ISD and the entire Temple community.”
Cornelius Carl Sampson was a Temple native and graduated as valedictorian of the Temple Negro School in 1915. He would later become principal of Dunbar Junior/Senior High School and also served as an athletic coach, debate coach and math teacher.
Sampson was considered the “Father of the Dunbar Panther Football Team.” In 1938, Sampson was named principal of African American High School in Corpus Christi. He was credited with renovating the school’s infrastructure, creating music and athletic programs, starting a free lunch program and introducing the school’s first vocational training program.
Durward and Jean Howard were teachers at Temple High School. Durward Howard joined THS in January of 1948 as band and orchestra director. During his tenure, the THS band played during halftime for the Dallas Cowboys and participated in the New Year’s Day performance at the Cotton Bowl. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Temple Starlighters jazz band, now known as Highlighters.
In 1979, Durward Howard was named the first ever director of Fine Arts and Humanities for Temple ISD. Jean Howard was a long-time civics and social studies teacher at Temple High School. In 1971, the Howards co-founded the THS Humanities class and taught together until Durward’s retirement in 1984. The Humanities class combined art, music, literature and drama for THS seniors. Both Howards also participated in numerous local civic organizations that worked to make fine arts available to the Temple community.
“Putting these two names together into one school highlights significant contributions at the state and local level,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of schools for Temple.
“The first name, Cornelius Sampson, was a graduate and valedictorian of the Temple Negro School, whose efforts led to equitable education access in Texas for minority children.”
“The second name, Durward and Jean Howard, recognizes their local achievements to Fine Arts and Humanities in Temple, Texas,” Ott said.
“This educator tandem pioneered many of the Fine Arts and Humanities programs that we know as staples in Temple ISD’s longstanding tradition of successful student programs.”
The new school was approved as part of the 2022 Bond proposal and will be built in the district’s southeast quadrant. Sampson-Howard Elementary is expected to open in the fall of 2024.
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