Durham Public Schools

Durham Public Schools was formed in 1992 with the merger of Durham's previous two school districts and is currently the 8th largest school system in North Carolina. There are currently 46 public schools in the system, consisting of 28 elementary (K-5), 8 middle (6-8), 2 secondary (6-12), 7 high (9-12), and 1 hospital school. Durham's schools are traditionally named after notable members of the local community (such as George Watts or Rogers-Herr) or the area they are built in (such as Bethesda or Eno Valley).

In 1927, Hope Valley School was built for grades 1 through 11. It was the first public school in Southwestern Durham. Changes to the Hope Valley School facility were made in 1941 and 1952. the school was subsequently downgraded to an elementary school with the opening of Southern High School in the fall of 1956. In 1964, Jordan High School on Garrett Road was constructed.

Prior to integration, it was commonly thought that the most prominent people attended the Durham City School System: white students attended Durham High School and black students attended Hillside High School.

In 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at Hillside High School, which was one of the Southeast's highest-ranked black high schools.

In 1957, the parents of Joycelyn McKissick and Elaine Richardson sued for their daughters to be reassigned to Durham High School of the Durham City School System.

In 1958, Rencher N. Harris became the first black member of Durham City Board of Education.

In 1959, the Durham City School Board allowed reassignment of eight black pupils to previously all-white schools. The first black students to integrate were Anita Brame and Lucy Jones at Brogden Junior High (now Brogden Middle School). In 1959, Joycelyn McKissick became the first African American student at Durham High School.

In September 1963, Charmaine McKissick among eight other minority youths were the first to desegregate into the Durham Public School system at the Elementary level. Along with her Floyd McKissick Jr, they entered into the North Durham Elementary School. Charmaine McKissick was the youngest to participate in the desegregation. She recalls, “My family prepared us all, every day, with the armor to return the next. “ Not many students are willing to talk about their experiences. McKissick-Melton also states, “It is too painful.” She goes onto write, “There are a few exceptions such as my good friend Janice Guess, whom I encouraged to write her story, and she did in, ‘Little Black Girls Want Pearls Too.’” The integration was a harsh burden for a lot of those children and families involved. McKissick also writes, “The hurt is so deep from the wounds of more than fifty years ago that they still feel the pain.” McKissick-Melton also write, “We had some difficult times but nothing compared to the older students, including my sisters before me. I had it easier because the kids had not had enough time to learn and display their hatred, racist and their bigoted behavior.” Charmaine McKissick-Melton, PH. D, has since then decided to give back to the Durham Community as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at North Carolina Central University. She is also the daughter of the late Evelyn and Floyd McKissick, Jude Floyd B. McKissick, Sr.

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