Katy ISD Board of Trustees Selects Namesakes for Three New Campuses
Katy, TX (April 26, 2015) Last night during their monthly meeting, the Katy ISD Board of Trustees selected the namesakes for Elementary School No. 40, Junior High No. 15 and High School No. 8, which will open in fall 2017, thanks to the 2014 voter-approved bond program.
The Board unanimously voted to name Elementary School No.40, located in the Young Ranch Subdivision, after Robert and Felice Bryant. Robert began his career in Katy ISD in 1983 as director of bands and fine arts department chair for Katy High School before being promoted to executive director of fine arts for Katy ISD in 2000. During his tenure he was named the 2006 Texas Tech University Distinguished Educator, the 2007-2008 Texas Music Administrator of the Year, and the recipient of the 2015 Jacob L. and Sophia Meyer Farb School Bell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music Education, among other awards. His wife Felice devoted 24 years teaching kindergarten and first grade students in Katy ISD, and was named the Katy Elementary Teacher of the Year in 1997. She also served as a Keep Encouraging Youth toward Success (KEYS) Mentor and continues to impact students after her retirement through tutoring and mentorship. Together this couple dedicated nearly 60 years of service to Katy ISD schools.
The Board also named Junior High No.15, located at 4777 Peek Road, in honor of the Stockdick family who have contributed to public education in Katy for more than a century. In 1895, the Stockdick family was among one of the first families to arrive in Katy and played an instrumental role in opening a one-room schoolhouse on what is now known as Stockdick School Road. Since then, several generations of Stockdicks have attended Katy ISD schools and have served as teachers, coaches, counselors, administrators and board members. They have also devoted countless hours as volunteers in our schools.
The Board also voted to name High School No.8, located at 23111 Stockdick School Road, in remembrance of Patricia E. Paetow, a lifelong educator who dedicated nearly 30 years to Katy ISD before losing her battle to cancer in July 2015. Mrs. Peatow began her career in Katy ISD in 1987 as an educational diagnostician. She then spent the next three decades working in different capacities, including assistant principal, principal, and director of campus administration and support, before retiring as Katy ISD’s assistant superintendent of administrative support. During her tenure, she led Wolfe Elementary to be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education for the 1989-1990 school year, and opened Betty Sue Creech Elementary in 2000.
Katy ISD’s namesakes have more than just years of education experience. Living namesakes and their families mentor our students, participate in community projects, and volunteer their time and resources to continue to make Katy ISD the leader in educational excellence.
Courtesy of Katy ISD
