Schools take names from district figures

There are several dozen elementary and middle schools within Cy-Fair ISD, and almost every one is named after an individual or family who made a contribution to the district.

Forrest and Mary Arnold

The namesake of Arnold Middle School, which opened in 1957, Forrest Arnold is considered one of the reasons Cy-Fair ISD has a successful agriculture program, according to district history.

Arnold was hired as principal of Rural High School No. 5 in 1936, and several years later in 1944 debuted the district rodeo—Cy-Fair Rodeo—which still occurs today. His wife, Mary, also taught at CFISD—both at Rural High School No. 5 and Cy-Fair High School— and the two worked for the district for a total of 84 years combined.

Mary also coached volleyball for the district from 1939–1959, and she accumulated more than 400 volleyball coaching wins. She was honored by CFISD in 2011 for her contributions to the program. The district won three state championships under her leadership during the 1950s. Forrest Arnold passed away in 1974, while Mary Arnold—still alive today— retired in 1981.

J.F. Bane

Until 1939, Cy-Fair ISD remained two separate school systems— Cypress and Fairbanks—before they merged. Former Fairbanks trustee J. F. Bane, for whom Bane Elementary is named, is said to be a key player in consolidating the two school systems.

Bane moved to Fairbanks in 1913 and then served on the district's board of trustees for 25 years, according to district history. In 1924, he traded the area's one-room school near Hempstead Highway to make way for what would later become Bane Elementary.

During his time on the board of trustees, Bane spent much time lobbying to consolidate the two school districts. The decision to consolidate was ultimately approved by local voters in December 1939. Residents in Fairbanks approved it by 90–87 and those in Cypress approved it by 129-66, according to district history.

Bane Elementary opened several decades later in 1972 in the Fairbanks area.

T. Sial Hancock

Growth—both academic and physical—took place during T. Sial Hancock's tenure as superintendent from 1955–1967. He introduced individualized teaching methods, a testing program to measure scholastic achievement and required teachers to attend in-service training, according to district history.

In the early 1960s, when district enrollment rose to more than 3,000, Hancock took a stand in favor of academics, according to district history, when he said that although extracurriculars such as the agriculture and rodeo programs are important, they would need to "take a back seat to more intellectual pursuits such as science, math, electronics, foreign languages and journalism."

In 1959, voters approved a district bond referendum that allowed for the addition of a new west wing at Cy-Fair High School, which would make more room for science, math, electronics, language and journalism classes. According to the district's history, Hancock once said, "We are faced with a tremendous challenge—to adjust from a rural culture to an urban one."

Source: Cy-Fair ISD District History