School History

W. J. Knox Elementary was established in the fall of 1932. A group of mothers in the area around Mitchell Street who had children of school age were instrumental in getting a school located at 302 Tipton. Their reason for desiring a school in the neighborhood was the fact that the nearest elementary schools were more than a mile away in either direction. After a petition was circulated and permission given by the San Antonio Board of Education for the establishment of a school, a two room frame building was moved from Hillcrest Elementary School to the present site at 302 Tipton and W. J. Knox School opened its doors for the first time to the children in September 1932.

Mrs. Ruth Reed and Mrs. Lula Samuel were the first teachers assigned to the school. Ms. Reed taught a class of 46 Pre-Primer to First Grade students, while Ms. Samuel had a room of 50 children in grades Second to Fourth.

Mr. Wilbur J. Knox was a part of the San Antonio Independent School District most of his adult life. Mr. Knox earned his teaching certification and began his educational career as a fourth grade teacher in 1887. He later became the principal at Navarro School from 1900 to 1920. He was one of the earliest educators in San Antonio to develop methods for teaching English to Spanish speaking children and assimilating them into American society. At the time of his death in 1940 he was serving as assistant superintendent for SAISD.

In 2009 the campus became the home for early childhood education through the Head Start program.  The Head Start Program is a program that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition , and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. Head Start promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services.

Knox Early Childhood Education Center is located on the property where Mr. Knox was born and spent his boyhood. It was appropriate that the school site which was once the Knox family property should be named for this dedicated educator.