Lucille Hunter Elementary School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lucille Hunter Elementary School |
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View of the front entrance to the school in 2024
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| Address | |
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1018 East Davie Street
, 27601
United States
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| Coordinates | 35°46′28″N 78°37′22″W / 35.77444°N 78.62278°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public (Magnet, GT, AIG) Primary |
| Motto | "It's happening at Hunter!" |
| Established | 1927 |
| School district | Wake County Public Schools |
| Principal | H. Trent Evans (interim) |
| Enrollment | 700+ |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Navy blue and gold |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Website | Hunter Elementary |
Lucille Hunter GT/AIG Basics Magnet Elementary School, often called Hunter Magnet Elementary School, is a special public school in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It was once known as Lucille Hunter School. This school is known for helping students who are very smart and learn quickly. It was also the first school in North Carolina to be named after an African-American teacher.
Hunter Elementary was the very first magnet school in Wake County. Magnet schools offer unique programs to attract students from different areas. Hunter's program focuses on Gifted & Talented (GT) learning, which means it provides advanced lessons for students who are academically gifted.
Contents
The School's History
Naming the School
Hunter Elementary is named after a remarkable educator named Lucille Hunter. She was born in 1883 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her parents had been slaves. Lucille Hunter taught in Raleigh's schools for Black students for over 40 years. She taught third grade at the old Washington School. When she passed away in 1926, she was teaching at the Crosby-Garfield school. Her former students and co-workers asked the Raleigh Township Committee to name the new school after her.
Building the School
The land where the school stands today was once a quarry from 1833 to 1840. This quarry provided stone for the North Carolina State Capitol building. Later, the land was used for other purposes. The Raleigh school board bought this land on July 14, 1926.
Construction of the school finished in 1927. The money for building it came from a special fund called a bond issue. When Hunter Elementary first opened, laws called racial segregation laws were in place in North Carolina. This meant that Black students and teachers were separate from white students and teachers. Hunter served Black students from first to seventh grade, and all its staff were Black. Many of the school's books were older ones passed down from white schools. Sometimes, fundraisers were held to buy new books. The Great Depression in 1929 made life hard for many families. Some students had to leave school to help their families earn money.
In 1935, a part of the Crosby-Garfield School was damaged by a fire. Students from that school came to Hunter Elementary for classes until their school was fixed in 1939. By 1953, the seventh-grade class moved to Washington Graded and High School. This left Hunter Elementary with students from first to sixth grade.
Fire and Repairs
On January 22, 1965, a big fire broke out at Hunter Elementary. The main part of the school was completely destroyed. Teachers rushed to save important school records from the flames. Luckily, the cafeteria and gym were not badly damaged. Classes were held in the school's basement and at John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School until the repairs were finished.
Becoming a Magnet School
In 1971, all schools in Wake County began to desegregate. This meant that students of all races could attend the same schools. Hunter Elementary became a school just for sixth-grade students. At that time, having schools for a single grade was a way to help communities accept integration. Repairs that had been needed for a long time were quickly done.
In 1978, the Raleigh City and Wake County Public School Systems joined together. Hunter then became the county's first magnet elementary school. It served students from kindergarten through sixth grade. The school started a special program for academically gifted children. This program helped attract students from other parts of Raleigh, which helped with the school's enrollment. Hunter was the first school in Wake County to have teachers specially trained for Gifted & Talented classes. In the 1980s, the sixth grade was no longer part of the school.
In the 1990s, Hunter Elementary was featured on the TV show Good Morning America on ABC. A psychologist named Robert Sternberg tested his ideas about intelligence with the students there.
Hunter Elementary celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2002-2003 school year. During this time, a portrait of Lucille Hunter was obtained. It is now displayed in the school's media center.
Awards and Recognition
Hunter Elementary has received several awards for its excellent programs:
- In 2013, the school earned a School of Distinction merit award from the Magnet Schools of America (MSA).
- In 2014, Hunter received a bronze award from Advocates for Health in Action. That same year, it also received a School of Excellence merit award from the MSA.
- In 2016, the MSA gave Hunter the School of Excellence Award again.
Notable Alumni
- Maycie Herrington, a person who works to preserve history.
