Four Mid-Del schools are closing their doors for the final time May 23, 2014.
These four elementary schools will be moving to one of two state-of-the-art new buildings, Soldier Creek Elementary and Midwest City Elementary.

Midwest City elementary, located behind the current East Side Elementary, will be made up of students and teachers from Sooner Rose, Traub and East Side Elementary. The new Soldier Creek Elementary is located behind the former school of the same name and will be made up of students from the current Soldier Creek Elementary and any expansion that Midwest City undergoes.

The two new schools are built to the exact same specifications with just color and decorative element differences.

Here is a bit of history from each of the closing sites:

East Side Elementary
In 1941, the founder of Midwest City, W.P. Atkinson, bought 168 acres across from what was to be Tinker Field and planned a city with aviation as its theme.
The city grew and prospered and several new schools were built in 1946. One special school built during that year was East Side Elementary. The doors of this 6-room building were opened to the first students in 1947.
East Side became known as the Jets and has passed down an excellent heritage of unity among teachers, students and parents; and a wealth of educational knowledge.

Traub Elementary
In 1953, Oklahoma City District Judge Carl Traub donated land west of 15th Street in Midwest City to a growing Independent School District 52, Midwest City Schools. Traub Elementary opened its doors in September 1953, to first through third graders, and by 1958 had built on enough to accommodate kindergarten through sixth graders.

For sixty-one years, Traub students, faculty, and staff, known as the Yellowjackets, have carried on a rich and prosperous tradition of learning and fostering the characteristics of trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, kindness, and good citizenship.

Sooner Rose Elementary
In 1889, the land run allowed for John Mulloy to settle on land located at S.E. 15th and Sooner Rd, which is where Sooner Rose currently stands. Two years later, in 1891, the Territorial Government built a one room school on said land, titled Sooner.

This building sufficed for a while, but as a result of WWII, Midwest City and Del City grew rapidly. This growth caused a need to expand the school system and school. The great Oscar Rose was hired as the first school Superintendent and his lovely wife Virginia Rose was Sooner-Rose’s first recorded Principal. When she retired in 1967, Sooner was renamed to Sooner-Rose in honor of Mrs. Rose. Mr. and Mrs. Rose led the school and district to what it is today and for that we are forever grateful.

Soldier Creek Elementary
Shortly after the land run of April l889, Soldier Creek became a part of the territorial school system. On June 11, 1892, Charles Halcomb signed a Quick Claim Deed granting one acre of land for a school site. On this one acre plot, there was a school house, two side privies, a large storm cellar and a water well. The school house was a large wooden building with folding doors down the middle so that the room could be divided into two. One section seated the first through fourth grades and the other seated the sixth through eighth grades.

Through the years of the Depression and Dust Bowl, more and more students came to the school to receive an education. The old concrete cellar was converted into a kitchen with tables and benches. The daily menu for students consisted of navy beans, prunes and cornbread. Nearing the end of the Depression, the school site was moved to an area one mile southeast so that a new school house could be constructed. In 1944, a building of brick, steel and glass was constructed. The new school had a telephone, electricity, air conditioning, natural gas, indoor plumbing, running water and a playground.

Since that time, the school has undergone many renovations and additional construction to add additional classrooms and space onto the existing structure to meet the growing number of students.

Soldier Creek is very proud of its heritage as well as the rich tradition of parental involvement, community support and excellence in education. Soldier Creek Elementary strives to continue and improve those rich traditions so that students are provided with all the necessary skills needed to prepare them for the future that lies ahead.

Featured in the two new buildings are several special elements that are going to be left as a surprise. However, what has been revealed are state of the art classrooms, decretive elements honoring the legacy of former schools, beautiful open and secure architecture (including two massive safe rooms) as well as plenty of storage and work space for teachers and students.

The two new buildings will be a welcome addition to the Mid-Del school district.

The new schools are undergoing finishing touches and soon will be ready for occupants. Next year classrooms will be prepared for the first of a new generation of Mid-Del students to enjoy these new facilities.

Two full pages of nostalgia and previews of the new schools are on pages B6-B7