Generations of Govalle Families Unite Behind Their Endangered School

By Noemi Castanon

Photography By Noemi Castanon

Reporting Texas

Govalle Elementary School opened its doors to East Austin families in 1931. Now, after 94 years of educating generations of East Austin families and serving as the center of their neighborhood, the school could be closed if its accountability rating does not change by the next academic school year.

“My grandparents moved to the Govalle Neighborhood when the streets were dirt roads,” community member Tina Manchaca said. “My aunts and uncles then my dad attended Govalle Elementary in the late 1950s.”

The families that have called Govalle home for generations have weathered two threats of closure or major changes in the past decade. This fall, the Austin Independent School District proposed transforming Govalle from a neighborhood school into a Montessori-styled elementary that could draw students from throughout the school district. But community opposition to the plan helped to persuade officials to remove Govalle from a plan to close 10 schools and alter others.

“What we’re always listening for and trying to understand is, are the ideas being brought forward, being responsive to our overall objective as a school district?” Austin school Superintendent Matias Segura said in announcing the latest version of the school closure plan.

The school board will consider moving the district’s Montessori elementary from Winn, which would close, to Reilly and leave Govalle alone — at least for now.

Now, Govalle is aiming to improve its academic ratings and is urging community members for help in tutoring the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders, said Govalle Principal Diana Vallejo. They are the ones in need of the most help to close in growth gaps.

“We also welcome mentors to be academic cheerleaders by just spending 30 minutes a week with a student,” Vallejo said.

Govalle Elementary received an exemplary grade in community and parental involvement, the highest grade, in a campus performance evaluation in 2016-2017. But the school has struggled in recent years during a series of leadership changes, receiving an F from the Texas Education Agency in its most recent ratings, which measure “how much students are learning in each grade and whether or not they are ready for the next grade.”

It currently is home to 384 students, 87.2% of them  from a low economic background. The school is 83.3% Hispanic and 13.3% African American.

Families, many of whom have lived in their slice of East Austin for decades, fear losing their connection to their neighborhood school. The city  recently designated  the area the Govalle Cultural District  to preserve and expand  the neighborhood’s rich cultural identity and status as a home to artists, studios and nonprofits

The Legacy of Govalle 

The Fabian family has lived in the neighborhood since 1948, and  four generations have attended Govalle.

The youngest Fabian family member to attend Govalle, 5-year-old Lillyana Jimenez, said she really liked her school, her teacher Vannesa Hart and how she has a lot of friends.

Her sister Mya Sanchez, 17, is now a senior about to graduate high school and also had Hart as a teacher at Govalle.

“They would help Mya with her speech and her writing.” Mya and Lilyana’s mom, Juanita Morones said “They made sure that she was understood.”

The whole family currently lives within walking distance from the school.

“I’m glad it was walking distance. This house has been in my family since 1968,” the girls’ grandfather, Lawrence Fabian, said.

While Fabian’s mother, Hermalinda Fabian, might have not grown in the same house during her childhood, they both had similar walks to school as kids.

“I loved the walks to school with my sister,” she said. “That’s how we got to meet more kids from the community,”

Other Govalle families

The Valdez Sanchez family also has  deep roots with Govalle, Living in the neighborhood since the 1950s Now they have a child who has attended Govalle for three years.

“Going to Govalle was important for so many reasons, but specifically because of the tight-knit community. The proposed change really shook us,” said Govalle parent Rachel Valdez Sanchez.

That motivated them to work with a group of parents to mobilize and speak up in opposition to the school district’s proposed changes. They joined staff and community members at board and community meetings and at rallies.

Jennifer Sosa, a Govalle parent, did not attend the school herself but she decided to enroll her child there.

Her mother attended Govalle, and finding out that her grandchild would attend “lit her face.”

“This community is beautiful and it’s the diversity that you don’t see,” Sosa said.

Frances Govea, who now has a grandson at Govalle, recalls being a student on a storied moment in Govalle’s past — when  a car crashed into the school library on May 6, 1980.

“I was in the third grade” Govea said “I was sitting around the table where the car actually went over. Luckily I happened to get up right before.”

Gilbert Gonzales attended Govalle from 1991 to 1996. After he got married and moved to South Austin, he told his wife he would want to raise their youngest child, Gabriel, in East Austin so Gabriel could go to the school he had attended. Gonzales was able to buy and move into his father’s family home.

“Whenever we can, we do our little walk to school that I did with my parents growing up,” Gonzales said.

Govalle staff 

For some educators and staff at Govalle, the school is all they have known. Some  began their teaching careers there 20-30 years back. Families who have had several of their children go through those same educators.

“I have families who see me at Walmart and they automatically run to me to say hi,” retired family support specialist Dolores Perez said. “Those who I once saw as kindergartners are now grown adults starting their lives.”

Veronica Sharp worked for the Austin school district for over 30 years and retired. She is now back as a bilingual library associate at Govalle.

“When the school was built, it was built for the underserved — which is here — so that it could be the neighborhood school,” Sharp said.

Her niece also attended Govalle and now her great niece and nephew are Govalle students

“It is many years of families that continue to come here for a reason,” said Tommie Solis, current Govalle parent and a teacher assistant.

Solis also attended Govalle as a child, and she said growing up she knew she wanted to come back and give back to the community.

District battles

This fall was  not the first time the Govalle  community has fought to keep their school open. In 2019 the school was on a proposed closure list. There was so successful pushback from the community then, as well.

“It is important to me that they keep Govalle as is,” Solis said. “Because what I feel is, you know, our kids are just being pushed out of which is their home.”