Through hugs and tears a huge crowd of supporters celebrated 65 years of love and service at Peebles Elementary School.
The school that opened in 1961 in north Killeen hosted a closing ceremony Friday that more closely resembled a family reunion.
Student council members led the pledges. A school honor choir led the school song. Principal Shakira Bodon-Ramos recalled the school’s long history and deep contribution to generations of Killeen families.
Named for Lee Peebles, Killeen ISD superintendent for 18 years during a time of intense growth and development at Fort Hood and the surrounding community, the school has stood sentinel through decades of history.
“People, relationships and heart,” is how Bodon summed up the school’s identity over the years.
“Peebles has never been just a building,” she said. “It’s been a place where kids were loved, where teachers gave their all and where families knew they belonged.”
The school’s namesake is remembered in multiple compilations of local history.
In a 40-year education career, Peebles was a favorite teacher, coach and principal. He is credited for establishing the district’s first lunch program and the original bus operation to bring rural students into the city.
It was during his seventh year as superintendent that Fort Hood was established and district enrollment rose from 500 to 1,300 students, transforming the city of Killeen and the school system from its rural beginnings to a growing military community.
During his tenure, Peebles oversaw construction of 12 schools, including the current Killeen High School on 38th Street and a central administration building attached to the former West Ward Elementary School facing Williamson Drive.
His career, said Bodon, spoke to the notion that “every child deserves access to education. It’s only fitting that a school built on such a vision has left such a lasting mark.”
Peebles joined East Ward (opened in 1952), West Ward (1953), Meadows (1953), Marlboro (1954) and Fowler (1956) among the district’s growing roster of elementary campuses.
The original Peebles Elementary principal was Ernest Chambers. Other principals included Jack Arnold, Anna Connell, Judy Tyson, Sherry Ward, Gayle Dudley, Carol Correa and the current principal Shakira Bodon-Ramos.
Over six decades, Peebles has been a first- through sixth-grade elementary school, a pre-kindergarten through third-grade campus, a Primary Years Program International Baccalaureate school and now a bilingual campus.
“No matter the program or the grade levels, one thing remained constant - the unwavering belief in every child’s potential,” said Bodon.
For many who packed the school cafeteria beyond capacity and then walked the hallways that were transformed into a photographic museum of memories, the school was home.
One of those returning home was Israel Valdez-Munoz, who was wearing his black Harker Heights High School graduation cap and gown a month before he graduates among the top 10 of the Class of 2026.
He attended Peebles Elementary School from kindergarten through fifth grade and was excited Friday to walk through the neighborhood school again and to see his favorite teacher, Mercedes Morales, who still teaches bilingual fourth grade there.
“I liked how every teacher made me feel like a family,” he said. “It was a home away from home. I was comfortable in every class I was in.”
“It looks smaller now. It’s emotional because of how far I’ve come. These doors were huge when I was here.”
“She’s definitely my favorite,” he said of Morales, his third and fourth grade teacher. “She was a very influential figure in my life.”
“We are not saying goodbye to what Peebles stands for,” said an emotional Bodon wrapping up the formal part of the event.
“We carry it with us – in our new schools, in our classrooms and in our hearts…The story of Peebles is far from over.”
Killeen ISD photo albums: https://www.killeenisd.org/photos