School Leadership Throughout The Decades
1916 - 1930s: Early School Leaders and the Establishment of Metz Elementary School
The first principal, Clara Stubbs, was familiar with teaching students of Mexican heritage at the nearby Palm school before serving the student body at Metz. Under her administration, Stubbs saw an explosion in school enrollment at Metz as a result of increased immigration from Texas to Mexico after the Mexican Revolution of 1920. In stark contrast to other public schools serving children of Mexican descent, Metz offered a full curriculum including reading, geography, music, ethics, and other subjects. Stubbs was one of the best known and one of the veteran teachers teaching three generations of Central Texas families. She served the campus for 16 years until her death in 1932.
Following her death, W.L. Darnell of Palm School temporarily served as the supervising principal.
1930s - 1960s: Increased Segregation and Integration
According to the "Public Schools Resource Guide" by the Austin History Center, Mamie Dell Barrow served as the second principal of Metz Elementary School from 1932 to 1947. During this time, Mexican students were thoroughly integrated with whites at Metz, unlike the other 90% of Texas public schools that were racially or ethnically segregated in 1930. With the exception of one first-grade class that focused on learning English, all students received the same educational opportunity. Considering the increased discrimination against non-Anglos at that time, this equal learning opportunity is a testimony to the incredible teaching staff and their dedication to supporting the East Austin community.
Other principals that were honored at the "Metz 60 Years Celebration" were Lee Wilborn, L.M. Fertch, M.S. Norton, Carl Wheeler Jr., Donroy Hafner, Robert Evans, and Robert Knauth.
- Dr. Lee Wilborn went on to serve the Texas Education Agency as an Assistant Commissioner. There are records of correspondence between Wilborn and George Sanchez regarding bilingual education foun at the Benson Latin American Collection.
- L.M. Fertsh served as the Texas Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) in 1937
1970s: The Hispanic Cultural Renaissance
The arrival of the first Mexican-American principal - Jose G. Flores - produced a radical shift towards bilingual/bicultural education at Metz in 1972. Growing up in a migrant farming family himself, Flores understood the students and their families' background, and thus he wanted to uplift the students' self-concepts - rather than minimizing it. His first few years at Merz were not easy. The roof leaked, the air conditioning did not work consistently, and the green paint was peeling -- perhaps reflecting AISD's change in attitude about minority students. Under his administration, Flores hired more Mexican-American teachers to reflect the student body's demographics and to reinforce his vision of ethnic pride. By the late 1970s, Metz Elementary was completely transformed and filled with enriching activities that promoted academic and cultural acknowledgments. Beyond students' involvement at school, Flores also addressed the Hispanic parents' feeling of powerlessness in their children's education by hosting weekly block meetings and advocating for more parental involvement.
Through his hard work and dedication, Jose Flores embodied the spirit of "community." His influence can still be found in every corner of Metz Elementary, whether it is the "Metz Publishing Company" in the library or the yearly field day.
1980s - Now: A Legacy of Pride
After Flores's retirement in 1984, each successive principal had also been a Spanish-speaking Mexican-American. This particular line of succession - Jorge Luis Rodriguez, Celia Martinez, and Joel De La Garza - all strongly promoted bilingual and bicultural education with the community's needs in mind. This cultural emphasis can be found in Metz's Spanish-language collection in the library.
"We had speakers that would come and read to the kids in multi-languages [...] because I wanted kids to hear someone read en ingles y español, con un cariño en español"
- Jorge Luis Rodriguez
Since its founding over 100 years ago, Metz Elementary continues to anchor the neighboring community. Many parents of Metz students attended Metz themselves, contributing to the generational sense of pride. Principal Celia Martinez attributed this pride to the devoted group of parent volunteers and PTA. Then, Joel De La Garza lead Metz to TEA-recognized status and initiated a very successful HOSTS tutoring program. His community outreach and activism and his commitment to student education made him a multi-year AISD Principal of the Year finalist.
The last three principals of Metz are Valerie Galbraith, Martha Castillo, and Azucena Garcia. Valerie Galbraith served as principal for 6 years before retiring in 2012. During her tenure, she earned exemplary academic performance for the 2009-2010 school year.
Prior to Martha Castillo's appointment to replace Galbraith as principal, Metz PTA held a protest outside the school against the decision to hire Castillo. Metz PTA President Marlene Cesareo said that Castillo "has no connection to the community" compared to the other frontrunner, Rogelio Neira. Nevertheless, Castillo brought her solid instructional leadership background to Metz.
Finally, Azucena Garcia, has been tasked with guiding the harrowing and unprecedented challenges brought on by both the COVID-19 pandemic and merger of Metz with Sanchez Elementary in 2019-2021. In order to help preserve the legacy of the Metz as it joins with its new partner-institution, Ms. Garcia played an active role in assisting with the establisment Metz Elementary School Archive.
For more information on Metz Principals, see the item: Don Bos History binder and the oral histories and interviews that will be posted soon!