(FORT BEND ISD) - It’s not often that you get to hear from the person whose name is on the building at the official dedication of a new school, but an audience of about 400 got to experience it Oct. 22 at Almeta Crawford High School.
Almeta Crawford spoke at length from the stage of the brand-new auditorium in the 500,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art school that occupies a full city block.
“So here we are in a building that will accommodate the future of the world,” Crawford said. “Our students go beyond Fort Bend, beyond the classroom, they are everywhere!”
She reminisced fondly about her days in the classroom as an educator, a career that spanned almost 50 years, 40 of those years were spent in Fort Bend ISD -primarily at Dulles High School.
“My happiness was to be in the classroom and put on a show, ha!” she said, eliciting a laugh from the audience, that included her daughter and sons. Nothing could keep Crawford away from her students.
“When the doctor told me I had breast cancer and I needed to come for radiation every morning, I did not go home to rest or sleep afterward as the doctors told me,” Crawford said. “I told them, ‘I’m headed up to Dulles High School where my students are waiting for me.’ That was part of my healing. It was medicinal.”
FBISD Board President Judy Dae read from Crawford’s favorite poem, “Myself” by Edgar Guest, reciting many of the lines in unison with the legendary educator.
“She loves poetry, reading, and singing, but what she loves the most is teaching,” Dae said. “She believed in every single one of her students and obviously her students believed in her. Hundreds of them reached out and nominated her as the namesake for this campus.”
At one point in the dedication program, Crawford High School Principal Keith Fickel asked for any former students of the legendary educator to stand. More than a dozen stood, among them was current FBISD Baines Middle School Principal Elizabeth Williams – just one example of former pupils who were so inspired by Crawford that they too became educators.
Fickel spoke about Crawford being the inspiration for the official school logo which shows a horse charging through an electrified capital C.
“That energy is inspired by her,” he said.
FBISD Superintendent Dr. Christie Whitbeck recalled meeting Crawford during a tour of the campus last spring.
“She has moves!” Whitbeck said. “That day, by the time we got to the gym, she took her spot at center court and started dancing. Ms. Crawford, I want to be like you when I grow up. You are a genuine treasure!”
Crawford was presented with commemorative items from members of Congress who represent local communities. One was a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol, another was a certificate of recognition, presented to Crawford by her daughter on behalf of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner sent a proclamation declaring Oct. 22, 2023, as Almeta Crawford day in the City of Houston.
Crawford’s reaction to the event was summed up by one of her favorite sayings, “to God be the glory,” she said.
Almeta Crawford High School is located at 801 Caldwell Ranch Blvd. in Rosharon. It is the first new high school to be constructed in Fort Bend ISD in 12 years.
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