The Founding of Metz

Mary S. Black's thesis, "Historical Factors Affecting Mexican American Parental Involvement and Educational Outcomes: The Texas Environment from 1910-1996"

Mary S. Black's thesis, "Historical Factors Affecting Mexican American Parental Involvement and Educational Outcomes: The Texas Environment from 1910-1996" documents the early history of Metz. Founded in 1916, Metz Elementary was always racially and ethnically diverse, but still had a majority of white students, with about 20% of students of Mexican heritage in 1926. This white majority further increased after the founding of Zavala Elementary in 1936, which was built specifically to educate Mexican-American children. With this development, Metz came to be understood as a school for white children, and the Hispanic population decreased. In the 1950s post-war era, this trend reversed as white families moved out of cities, leading to an increase in Mexican-American students from 10% in 1940 to 37% in 1950, steadily increasing onward (104-108). 

"Metz Elementary not recommended for historic preservation" in the Austin American-Statesman, May, 1990.

Despite this reversal, the early history of Metz is one of the reasons cited by community members who opposed making Metz a historical landmark during the campaign for a new building, according to an article in the Austin-American Statesman:

"The reason I never went to that school is because it was there for Anglos only."

“Some speakers said that Latinos could only attend Metz after fighting the school board and that the school became Hispanic only after whites left the neighborhood.”