Mullen Grade School

Plans for a school house in the town of Mullen were laid in 1902. This school was located on the northwest corner of the town, by the present-day Episcopal Church. It was short-lived, however, as it burned down in April 1904. Another two-story building was erected in 1907. This building had two classrooms on the ground floor and two on the second floor as well as a principal's office at the end of the hall. This second floor was used for high school students until a high school was built in 1917. The Elementary School was used until 1938, when it was condemned for unsafe use. It was moved to the back of the lot and a $36,000 brick building took its place in 1939. This building had five classrooms, an office, and a basement with a stage at the east end used for school programs and activities. In October 1971, a vote for a bond to be issued for building an addition to the 1939 brick building passed. The new addition was built adjoining the south side of the east portion of the original building. This large room was used to accommodate both elementary and high school students for the lunch program. The kitchen was remodeled, the old lunch area was turned into an Art room, and two classrooms were combined into one for speech therapy. All rural students were bussed into Mullen so the Hooker County rural schools have all vanished. A lot has changed in the last century!

The seniors have been spending a lot of time with the Kindergartener's, doing a wide variety of projects. One such project was the Veteran's Day Program, which is pictured to the left.

When we were in the Kindergarten, our week consisted of three days at school, a lot of nap times, multiple story times, and long recesses. Well times have changed and so has the school system. To adjust to the changing times and standards of the school system, the kindergarten class has gone from a three-day week last year to a four-day week the first semester and a five-day week second semester. The school board has thought long and hard and has considered the many different factors of a “full time” or 5-day week Kindergarten program. There were five main factors that the school board considered: finances, academics, the music program, mental readiness, and accreditation.

Surveys were sent out to parents of this year's kindergarteners, parents who have children in first or second grade, and parents that have children younger than five years old. Of the 57 families surveyed, 38 replied, making the response rate an impressive 68%. The outcome was in favor of the suggested change in scheduling. The Mullen Board of Education made the final decision to move to a 5-day week in June 2007 with a vote of 5-1.

Pros of a five-day week include students having more teacher contact time as well as having an increase in time for social activities that were “cut out” as a result of the time requirements made by the states standards. Cons include the fact that the children will be spending less time at home with parents and some children may not be ready to go to a “full time” kindergarten schedule. This five-day schedule is not a permanent transition and can be changed as needed so long as the students attend school for 1,032 hours.