Coppell Chronicle Vol. 5, No. 10
Pinkerton Cowpokes Gather for Goodbyes • Coppell ISD Releases Extra TEA Ratings • Candidates Detail Campaigns’ Cash Flow • Elected Officials Offer Endorsements
Pinkerton Cowpokes Gather for Goodbyes
No blood was shed during Pinkerton’s Last Rodeo, but there was plenty of sweat and tears.
The elementary school was packed with so many people on Sunday afternoon that the air-conditioning system struggled to keep things cool. Meanwhile, the formal portion of the farewell event featured several speakers who couldn’t help but cry during their remarks.
Pinkerton Elementary School, Coppell ISD’s oldest campus by a country mile, will be open for only four more weeks. Its final principal, Amanda Sweeney, presided over an event attended by two of her predecessors, Kristi Mikkelsen and Joy Smartt.
“Today isn’t just a goodbye,” said Sweeney, whose three years as principal were preceded by three years as an assistant principal and four years as a Pinkerton teacher. “It’s a celebration of everything this place has meant to us and to Coppell ISD.”
Although he never taught at Pinkerton, Superintendent Brad Hunt has spent a lot of time there since being hired as a Coppell High School teacher in 1990.
“It is, and always will be, the foundation of our district — the roots from which we have all grown,” Hunt said. “All roads lead from and back to Pinkerton.”
Coppell ISD trustees voted last September to close Pinkerton because the district is dealing with budget deficits and has hundreds of empty seats in its elementary schools. The three trustees who are former Pinkerton parents — Nichole Bentley, David Caviness, and Leigh Walker — also spoke during Sunday’s event.
“To all of our students that have walked these halls, you are why we’re all here today,” Caviness said. “You’ve brought energy to the classrooms, life to the hallways, and pride to this campus. I hope you always remember being part of something special here at Pinkerton. Once a Cowpoke, always a Cowpoke.”
Walker was a Pinkerton Cowpoke; excuse me, she is a Pinkerton Cowpoke. The same is true of her sisters and her husband. She said Pinkerton is often referred to as Coppell ISD’s “O.G.” campus, but in Walker’s view, those letters stand for “old girl.”
“Pinkerton has done everything that’s been asked of her, and she’s done it well,” Walker said.
Although my sons attended Denton Creek Elementary, we reside in the Pinkerton attendance zone, so I saw neighbors past and present as I walked through the school on Sunday. Chris Meyer watched the youngest of his four children, who is a Pinkerton fifth-grader, sing with the school choir. Marilyn Horton showed me a vintage directory from an era when the Pinkerton Pete mascot was still drawn with his guns firing. I also spotted Suzanne and Brian Barker, who moved away from Coppell four years ago but flew in from Miami to say so long to the only elementary school their two children attended. Suzanne took a break from hugging old friends to explain why.
“We just loved it,” she said. “It was just a sweet family atmosphere.”
If you weren’t able to attend Sunday’s event, you can get a feel for that family atmosphere by watching a video produced by Coppell High School seniors Sydney Beach and Jack Mancuso, who are program directors at KCBY.
Monday’s meeting of the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees will include a proclamation honoring Pinkerton’s legacy. Coincidentally, the agenda includes another item stemming from last fall’s closure debates: an update on the reimagining of New Tech High.
Coppell ISD Releases Extra TEA Ratings
Thanks to a judicial ruling, the Texas Education Agency has released its ratings of schools and districts for the 2022-2023 academic year. Coppell ISD went a step further by releasing its ratings for 2023-2024.