Phyllis Robinson

Nina Kitchen said the Hamilton County School Board’s decision to close the doors on Howard Middle School at the end of the 2008-2009 year, won’t diminish what she learned there.

The Decatur, Ga., resident said she learned to extend beyond her comfort zone, to appreciate the contributions of blacks to American music and to develop an interest in social sciences that predated her career as a clinical social worker.

Closing the school, Ms. Kitchen said, “in no way ended or diminished what was imparted in my mind and character through this great institution.”

Patricia Martin of Atlanta said when she first went to Howard Middle (then Howard Junior High) in 1962, she was part of a double shift of students. She and her classmates went early in the morning, while students who were going to attend the soon-to- be-open Alton Park Junior High went in the afternoon.

“It was a great school with a great reputation in successful academics and sports,” she said. “It was the beginning of new friendships and the continuation of others.”

Several former Howard Middle students said caring teachers made a difference in their lives.

“I think we had the most amazing teachers who really took an interest in our learning,” said Reba Ratliff of Chattanooga. “I feel so grateful to have had wonderful educators in my life.”

“We respected the teachers,” said Debbie Jones-Ellis, who attend Howard Middle School from 1968 to 1971. “We did not talk back to the teachers, (and) I can never recall a student fighting a teacher. Respect ... will take you a long way in life. My mother taught me at an early age that if you give respect you will get respect.”

Phyllis Nolan Robinson of Chattanooga, who attended the school in the mid-1960s, said the classroom could be silenced with a look and the hall cleared with a voice.

“The parents and teachers were all on the same page,” she said. “That page was to (guide students toward graduation) and instill in the student a sense of self-worth that would serve the student in later life.”

Students also recalled specific events that punctuated their years at the school.

Ms. Kitchen said she was a dancer in the school performance of “The Wizard of Oz” that she said “showcased the various departments in the school and extraordinary talent of the staff and students” and could “easily compete with some of the professional plays of today.”

Sandra Trimble of Chattanooga said a statewide music competition in which she came in second in the flute highlighted a junior high music world in which she played in both the school’s concert and marching bands.

“My mother sacrificed to buy me a flute, and my daddy made me a metal name plate for its case,” she said. “I didn’t want to disappoint (band leader Grady) Black or my mother, so I practiced constantly. I had a sister who played the clarinet and a brother who briefly played the trombone, so I always had somebody to practice with. It was unusual to come into my house or on my street and not hear the music from my flute.”

Ms. Robinson said the most memorable national event during her tenure at Howard Middle was the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.

“When the news came, (the teacher) had us to write down how we thought this event would impact us,” she said. “Being in the eighth grade, we did not realize what a long reach this would have on the world.”

When Hamilton County Schools administrators made the decision to close Howard Middle — the building is the onetime Howard Elementary School — in March, they cited budgetary reasons as well the fact it needed repairs and generally was in poor condition.

“I was sad to see the middle school close,” said Ms. Jones-Ellis, “but (I) understand that the school was very old and the safety of the children came first.”