Three former Cy-Fair ISD employees were recognized Nov. 12 when the board of trustees approved the namesakes of three future schools—Elementary School No. 53 and 54 and Middle School No. 18.

Elementary School No. 53 will be named after Margie Sue Pope, who retired from the district in 2004.

"To have your name on a building anywhere is an honor, but to have it on a building in a school district like Cypress-Fairbanks is more than most educators could imagine," Pope said.

In the more than 18 years Pope spent with CFISD, she worked at Cy-Creek High School, Cy-Falls High School, Campbell Middle School and served as an assistant superintendent. Before coming to Cy-Fair, she worked for Klein ISD, Tomball ISD, Houston ISD, Brazosport ISD and Spring ISD.

Margie Sue Pope Elementary School is under construction in Bridgeland and will open in August 2013.

"This is not just a tribute to me, but the family and the many people who worked with me to meet the needs of all our kids at Cy-Creek, Campbell and [Cy-]Falls," Pope said.

Elementary School No. 54, which is slated to open in August 2014 inside Canyon Lakes West, will be named after Sadie Woodard, who joined the district in 1969.

"I've seen us go from one high school to 10 high schools, [from] two middle schools to 18, and here we are at 54 elementary schools," she said. "When I first came it was about six or eight."

Woodard served as a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, director of guidance and counseling and as an assistant superintendent during her time with CFISD.

"I know what a wonderful district Cy-Fair is," Woodard said. "I have been here long enough to see how well things are run and how well people provide energy to succeeding. We have high goals, and we work hard to reach those goals. I know at Woodard Elementary we will have high goals, and we will reach those goals."

Middle School No. 18 will be named after former CFISD superintendent David Anthony, who worked for the district from 2004 to 2011. The school will open in August 2014, adjacent to Rennell Elementary.

"This is the greatest honor I could ever hope to achieve in my profession," Anthony said.

Anthony was a superintendent for 24 years, and prior to that he served as a principal and teacher. During the meeting, he said that the two greatest professional days of his life were when he was hired by Cy-Fair ISD and when he received the school namesake.

"This is the greatest honor in public education in the country," Anthony said. "I can tell you, I go to districts all over Texas, and Cy-Fair has so much to offer and is absolutely the holy grail of school districts."

The board of trustees has been discussing initial attendance boundary plans for Margie Sue Pope Elementary, as it will be the first of the three new campuses to open. The board will make a final decision during the Dec. 10 meeting, and the initial plan can be seen at www.cfisd.net/boundary.