HOUSTON – Dec. 5, 2017 – Current and past administrators, teachers, students, alumni and Spring ISD Board Trustees came together Monday night to celebrate the love and sense of belonging that Bammel Elementary School has offered to both students and staff for 50 years.

Joan Harding, a former principal, who served for 20 years in the building that was located at the school site before the new replacement school opened in 2010, made the point that it is not school buildings that have made the biggest impact on Bammel students, but what goes on inside the building. 

“Inside that school there were teachers, custodians, and cafeteria workers who knew kids by name, who put their arms around them each time, who corrected them if they were wrong and who loved on them every single day,” Harding said.

Dr. Berky Hernandez-Owolabi, current principal, provided an example of how that same love for students continues at Bammel to this day with the surprise recognition of Coach Steve Davis for his years of service.

 “This staff member has 25 years of dedicated and committed service, of ensuring that all students – our three year olds, all the way up to our fifth graders – and even our staff members are built Bammel tough,” said Owolabi. “He has impacted the hearts of thousands of children, especially the ones that walk through those doors each and every day.”

Davis, a physical education teacher, received a plaque and a basketball signed by current Bammel students, as well as a standing ovation from the audience of about 100 guests.

Marcellas Baker, a former student, came to Bammel in 2006 after moving to Houston from Louisiana and remembered that it was very different from what he had been used to. He recalled the patience that his teachers and Coach Davis showed him while he was adjusting to a new school in a new state.

“I had coaches and teachers who stood by me, and I do appreciate it,” Baker said. “To this day, I want to be a good coach because Coach Davis inspired me so much. This is kind of emotional, because he is still here, and he is still the same guy that I met when I came here.”

Superintendent Dr. Rodney Watson acknowledged the work of all those present, thanking them for their time, talent and support. “You are clearing the path to higher education and success for all students,” Watson said.

He extended a special thank you to members of the Board of Trustees who attended, Dr. Deborah Jensen, Justine Durant, Jana Gonzales, Chris Bell and Donald Davis, for endeavoring to keep children first.

The dinner and program, which were held in the gymnasium, included a brief walk outside the building to launch balloons on the parking lot, as well as student performances by the Bammel Guitar Group, Bammel Treble Makers, Bammel Student Council and the Spring Academy of Dance.  The meal was donated by Creole Cuisine Catering LLC.