Bradfield Elementary welcomed former staff, generations of students, and special guests to its campus on April 14 for a homecoming event celebrating 100 years of school history.
Visitors included Clay Bradfield, the great-grandson of John Sherman Bradfield, the school’s namesake. John S. Bradfield was a longtime Highland Park ISD board chair known for his wisdom and devotion.
This was the first time that Clay had been inside the rebuilt elementary school, which opened in the fall of 2019 after a complete redesign. Bradfield, Hyer, and University Park Elementary were rebuilt and Boone Elementary was constructed with funds from Highland Park ISD’s $361.4 million bond package passed in 2015, which was by far the largest in the district’s history.
Clay described the new Bradfield as bright and impressive, and said he loved its distinctive stairs.
“I remember being here for the 75th (anniversary) and now I’m here for the 100th, so it’s just kind of a cool thing,” he added.
John S. Bradfield’s granddaughter, Claire Roberts, was more familiar with the renovated school. She served on the redesign committee and was on hand at the new Bradfield’s dedication in October 2019. Four of her grandchildren were the first members of the Bradfield family to attend the school that bears their great-great-grandfather’s name. Two of her great-grandchildren are current students.
“I think it’s out of this world, it’s fabulous,” Roberts said of the new building.
Longtime Bradfield staff members also returned to celebrate the centennial. Shirley Martin helped teach at Bradfield for more than five decades as an educational aide. She assisted in guiding students through everything from their move to the new building to their response to a false bomb threat and flooding that impacted the school’s parking garage.
“It was a nice, old building, but its infrastructure was done, and we had outgrown it,” Martin said of the prior facility. “At one point, we were so crowded that I and another aide were teaching on the stage.”
Attendees of the homecoming event were offered student-led tours of the building, along with refreshments, including cake, in the cafeteria.
Park Cities People’s founding editor Kirk Dooley, who is a Bradfield alum and former parent, concluded the homecoming celebration with a talk through Bradfield’s history.
Dooley reminisced about beloved staff members and recalled when a twin-engine plane crashed into the school’s north wall on Sept. 27, 1967. Students had fortuitously been dismissed early, but all seven people on board the aircraft were killed on impact.
Dooley highlighted the work of the school’s devoted former custodian and crossing guard, Sam Flores. It didn’t make a difference who made a mess — Flores would just clean it up, Dooley recalled.
Flores died in 2023, but a bench, dubbed “Sam’s corner” in his honor, remains on the campus.
Sam’s wife, Hilda, and their sons, Sam, Joshua, and Jonathan Martinez Flores, were on hand for the centennial festivities.
“What a joy it was to see so many sweet friends and teachers walk through the school’s photo gallery spanning 100 years, and hear stories from years past!” the younger Sam wrote in a post on social media. “To the families and lifelong friends we have had the pleasure of knowing, you are so cherished. We are incredibly thankful for your friendship and love.”
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