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A School History of Douglass Elementary (1953 - present)

Douglass was originally constructed beginning spring of 1952 as a part of the Fairview Consolidated School District. A bond of $494,000 was approved to purchase the site and erect a building to house the newly formed school district. The original Architects were Atchinson & Kloverstrom. They designed original building and were also later involved in the two-story addition. This architectural firm was well known throughout the state as the best school architects. One of the features of the design was natural lighting. Along the top of each classroom was a panel of glass block which was designed to avoid the need for artificial lighting. In the beginning, there were only a few incandescent fixtures for the janitor. Those blocks were later covered with plywood and can be seen as the painted panels on the outside of the building. The fluorescent lighting was later added. There are two large glass block panels on the south and east walls of the gymnasium which have been covered with plywood and painted. The present music room was the industrial arts room. The computer room was the home economics room and a meeting place for committees.

In 1953, the school opened for 1953-1954 school year. There were seventy eight Jr. High students (grades 6 - 9) and an unknown number of elementary school students grades (1 - 6). In 1954, the quonset hut was purchased with the original bond money as a new building to be the bus garage. The original Mechanic was George Boland who is now deceased. In the 1950's, all four of the District's buses would fit in the quonset hut together. After consolidation came with Boulder in 1961, there were 13 buses owned by the new consolidated District. The quonset hut was used in the 1950's as a bus garage. It had a dirt floor. When the Fairview District consolidated with Boulder, the floor was paved, the building updated and all of the Boulder Valley School District buses were parked to the North for several years until the Education Center at 65th and Arapahoe was completed. When the buses were moved, the quonset hut was converted to the Art room. Florence Curtis was the art teacher and the quonset hut remained a large art facility until it was later converted into two classrooms.

The portable building next to quonset hut was originally purchased from Lowry Air Force Base in the mid 1950's and moved to Douglass in the mid 1960's. Originally the building was used as a duplex used for single family housing of officers at Lowry. The District purchased 10 of these buildings at a price of $200 - $300 each. The District had the buildings moved by house mover to locations other than Douglass. The remaining structures ended up at Nevin Platt Middle School and Martin Park Elementary. In the mid 1960's, the portable was used for two classrooms, one as special education. While the new Library addition was under construction in the early 1980's, the Library was temporarily moved to this structure.

In 1956, six classrooms added in the two story addition on the north end. From 1956 - 1960, the junior high population at times became so high, that the elementary students were moved back and forth to Arapahoe Elementary School (Corner of 75th and Arapahoe). In 1971, the school became Douglass Elementary. The present day Fairview High School was opened, and the old Fairview School was renamed Nevin Platt Jr. High School. At this time, some of the elementary students were moved back to Douglass. In 1982, the Arapahoe Elementary School was closed forever and all remaining elementary students were moved to Douglass Elementary School.

Other events which happened was the construction of the current Library in 1983. A conference room and two special education rooms were also added. From 1981 to 1983, the hallway paintings were begun. The project initiated by Joni Beall. Mary Ellen (Bunny) Fowler created the mountain "Doug Lass" scene. The book, Doug Lass, is to be found in the Library and chronicles a young boy who landed his spaceship in an abandoned school house. Seventy parents came to work on the first mural under Bunny's direction. Fifty parents were involved in the hallway gingerbread house mural.

The First Name

Douglass was first named as Fairview School District Elementary and Jr. High. The name changed to Douglass Jr. High and Elementary School on April 21, 1960. A committee from the Student Council, all grades represented, was formed. Mrs. Nellie White, headed up the committee. The principal, Jerry Cantlon, also attended. Many lists were developed by the committees and considered. The School Board asked for the top three to be submitted. No one got excited about any name. Nevin Platt refused to allow the school be named after him. Names from local residents were not considered to avoid conflicts. The name of Harl R. Douglass was suggested by Principal Jerry Cantlon. The committee unanimously approved. The School Board approved the name. The school's namesake is for Dr. Harl R. Douglass, an administrator and educator for more than 50 years. Every year after the convocation in 1960 until his death on August 19, 1972, the school held a "Douglass Day" Assembly at which Dr. Douglass always attended and spoke to the student body.

Buildings' Historical Use

Douglass Elementary also housed the Fairview Administration in Room #8 until Nevin Platt Middle School (then Fairview High School) was opened in 1960 at which time the Administration offices were moved there (at the time it was called Fairview High School). The teacher's room was junior high counseling office. As Originally utilized, the South wing was for the elementary students and North Wing was the junior high.

From 1953 to the mid 1960's, the quonset hut used as a bus garage. From the mid 1960's to present day, the old Lowry AFB portable building house used as additional classroom. The first Library was in Room 8. It was displaced by the Administration office and placed in the Cafeteria along the South and Southwest wall as a dual purpose room. The library was not available during lunch. The librarian at the time asked for a transfer to another school because she disagreed with the new configuration.

School District History

In 1950, seven districts were consolidated to form Fairview Consolidated School District. They were the Baseline School, Valley View (where El Rancho Hanson Motel was 33rd and Arapahoe), Fairview (75th and Arapahoe built in 1907 and renamed from Fairview to Arapahoe Elementary in about 1953,  Valmont School (house still standing in original location), White Rock School, Davidson Grange (Hwy. 287), and Shamrock School (South Boulder Road).

The district line between Fairview and Boulder was 30th Street. The Fairview Consolidated District did not have a high school until the Fall of 1960 when the new Fairview High School (now Nevin Platt Middle School) was built. High school students were bused to Boulder High School. Nevin Platt became Superintendent 1950. There were 184 students and six teachers for grades 1-9. That district consolidated to become Boulder School District in 1961. Growth attributed to these organizations:

  1. Esquire (later Neodata)
  2. Ball Brothers
  3. National Bureau of Standards
  4. IBM

Interesting Vignettes about Douglass Elementary

During the period of time Bud Mates was principal (1960-1974), IBM moved to town. With the influx of new families, the student census rose to 1,127. In order to accommodate this sudden increase, Mr. Mates had students not only at Arapahoe Elementary and Douglass Jr. High and Elementary School, but classes at four churches and became known for a brief time as the "Bishop." The churches were in Heatherwood, Fairview Bible School on 76th Street, St. Ambrose on South Boulder Road; and Betheny Baptist at 55th and Baseline.

The bell which can be found in the Douglass Elementary Library came from the Arapahoe Elementary School. It was discovered in the belfry in the 1960's when the janitor at the time was doing maintenance work. Principal Mates had the bell brought to Douglass Elementary and allowed students who had excelled at any given time and deserved recognition, to ring the classes in.

The school classes were scheduled by Principal Mates on a large plywood board with nails and key tags. It was not until 1971, when a computer scheduling program became available that this system was abandoned. The class lists were sent to McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, for processing and took weeks to get returned.

Past Principals of Douglass:

Persons Interviewed

Written Contributions for history of Douglass Elementary are:

Other references:

Back To The Basics - The Frontier Schools of Boulder County, Colorado, 1860 - 1960, By Anne Quinby Dyni

Researched and written by: Steven E. Harris - Revised: Tuesday, May 20, 1997
 

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