Remember
the neighborhood schools we used to have before the Warren
Area Elementary Center (WAEC) was even a thought? The neighborhood
friendships and feeling of localized identity that was present
in the old model
of schooling may be the
biggest loss with the new centralized building model. Nowhere
else was school pride greater than at Lacy Elementary School
on the
East Side
of Warren, on the current site of Warren Shurfine from 1928 to
1989.
Lacy,
with its long straight hallways that seemed to go forever when
you were small,
its modest gymnatorium, small but well-equipped library, and
its noisy radiators was the daily home and center of learning for
hundreds
of children, easily spanning 3 or 4 generations. We learned
everything from how to count and recognize colors to reading ,
mathematics,
science, basic art skills, music, and maybe most importantly
how to interact with other people. We were a small school by
most
standards,
and because of that we
were
among
the first to go during the early wave of consolidation that saw
Lacy, Irvinedale,
and McClintock all close their doors.
Those
doors may have closed, and the building may be gone, but in the
alumni of Lacy Elementary
School,
pride in the Lacy Lions lives on in our fond memories from
those days long ago that shaped us in so many ways.
This web
site is a tribute to our school, it is a place where we hope
to capture some of the memories we have from Lacy, and to tell
a bit
of
its history.
Today,
elementary school students of the City of Warren and its surrounding
townships
experience state-of-the-art
opportunities in education at WAEC. We could only have dreamed
of having the opportunities that they have now. At WAEC there is
a much
broader friend base, more technology, specialized teachers all
in one building, a well equiped gymnatorium and separate cafeteria.
But still, with all of its benefits, the one loss
with WAEC, is
the closer localized friendships we all established with the
children we spent 6 or 7 years with in the same class. These
kids
all lived
within walking distance from each other, making it easy to
play with friends. We'd play crazy kid games like kick the
can,
chase, kickball, or whatever we could come up with in the days
before Wii.
We
cannot and probably should not ever go back
to
the neighborhood system of schooling, but for those of us who
experienced it, it is hard to imagine doing it any other way.
We miss the building, we long for the simple days of our youth,
but time moves on and so must we all. But we will never
forget Lacy
Elementary and our time there. We are the Lions...Hear us roar!!!
