Imagine the surprise of the faculty and staff at Centennial Avenue Elementary School when workers demolishing their old school recently unearthed a number documents dating back to 1929. Sealed in the walls of the old Centennial building were various types of papers with the original names of faculty and staff who worked in the school during that time. Now the faculty and staff, excited by this discovery, are ready to dig even deeper in a quest to find out more about the people who worked in their building during that time.

It has been eighty years since for some unknown reason; these documents were placed in the walls of the school. It has also been nearly 80 years since the crash of the stock market. How were these residents affected? What did it mean for the school budget back then? These are just some of the questions educators at the school would like answered.

Using their pedagogical training, Centennial teachers and Principal Patricia Charthern recognized that this was a “teachable moment” and decided to use the discovery as a teaching tool. As a result, Centennial Avenue Elementary School teachers have plunged completely into this project. Taking the lead are teachers from grades four and five. Although the entire school is involved, the fourth and fifth grade teachers are in charge of all the lessons and activities which the rest of the school will be involved in. Their ultimate goal is to not only find a living person who attended the school during that time, but to have students become a part of “history in the making” and learn a little bit more about their neighborhood.
Some of the artifacts found include names of those teachers and staff members who worked at Centennial, along with a Bible which appears to be in surprisingly good condition, along with other documents.

Part of the newly rebuilt Centennial Avenue Elementary School was opened in 2005 as part of a $208 million dollar bond project. The old section was used as a swing school for other elementary schools in the Roosevelt School District while their schools were being rebuilt. When the remaining students and staff moved out last spring, workers began to demolish the remaining area.
If you are interested in going along with the students and staff of Centennial Avenue Elementary School as they travel back in time please contact Vivian E. Isom for more information.