Changing Lives One Classroom at a Time

BY LAURA SPAULDING Staff Writer/Consultant

Since opening its doors in 1997, The Joy School has continued to succeed and grow with our students. Despite all the changes in the last 27 years, one thing has remained the same - our mission to “enable students with learning differences to return to traditional classroom settings by reaching their social and academic potential in a safe, supportive environment.”

 

Just Teach Them

Our founding teacher and current head of school, Shara Bumgarner, laughs when sharing the story of still being young and naive enough to quit her full-time teaching job in one of Houston’s premier elementary schools to try and change the world. It all started with four struggling students and some rented classroom space. Like all TJS families and students, these four had experienced struggles and failure in traditional classroom settings, and none of them had mastered the art of reading. By the end of that first year, all four were not only reading but had rediscovered joy in learning. What was the magic that unlocked their potential and continues to unlock the potential of so many other students to this day? According to Shara: “you just teach them. Figure out what they CAN do and build on it.” 

The following year began with three full classes of six students each, and then in 2000, we had the joy of watching 42 full-time students learn, grow, and succeed while we  “just taught.” That was the same year The Joy School moved into a cozy old house built in the 1940s at One Chelsea Blvd, right in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. Every time we converted another closet or shower to usable classroom space, we immediately filled the space, remaining at max enrollment capacity year after year. 

 

Room for One More

After learning The Joy School could not offer their daughter a spot due to space limitations, Frank and Kathy Montgomery offered to fund and build an additional classroom in the porte-cochere of the old house. In January 2001, space for six new students was added, and a small plaque with the words “Room For One More” was secretly hung above the door by Kate’s father, Frank. This new space brought enrollment capacity up to a whopping 49 students. 

In the following years, we squeezed classrooms into temporary buildings added along the perimeter of the backyard and converted every last nook we could find in the old house. After adding one final "classroom” beneath the stairs, we officially ran out of space at One Chelsea Blvd. 

In 2004, 5 Chelsea Blvd went on the market, and our board raised over $800,000 in just six weeks to purchase the property. We added additional temporary buildings and playground space, bringing enrollment to 99 students. So began our journey of property acquisition over the next six years.

 

Room for Many More

Four properties adjacent to our original home at One Chelsea Blvd were purchased between 2006 and 2010. Then in 2010, under the leadership and ten-year tenure of Board Chair Mary Watt, the school embarked on a $10 million capital campaign to unify our properties and construct a permanent school building. This necessitated working with the City of Houston to buy a small strip of Louisiana Street that was dividing our property in half. It took 13 years of thoughtful planning and construction for our team of dedicated teachers and administrators to see their dreams of teaching in real classrooms come to life. 

When we opened the doors of our new 25,000 square foot building in 2013, a small plaque hung above the door in our entryway touting the phrase “Room for Many More.” Enrollment exploded to 150 students, and we suddenly had 30 full-size classrooms, spaces for art, PE, gardening, and common areas to gather in larger groups. While we were thrilled to have so many new ways to serve and help our students grow and succeed, it quickly became apparent we were once again bursting at the seams. Determined not to make anyone teach in a closet or temporary building again, we started to dream of other ways to solve the growing needs by adding a whole school gathering space and expanding programming.

 

Room for Even More

With the opening of our 11,000 square foot Mary and Dick Watt Activity Center in Fall 2023, The Joy School is now able to slowly increase enrollment over the next several years to 175 students while still being fully equipped to serve all students on their journey from struggle to success. Since opening its doors in August, this new space has served us in numerous ways, including indoor PE and lunch spaces, whole school assemblies, and campus-wide family events and activities. It is home to a state-of-the-art maker space, art studio, and audio/visual production studio. 

Not only has the new activity center allowed us to serve our current students better, but it also provides additional opportunities for outreach and advocacy for all students with learning differences and disabilities throughout the greater Houston area. We are excited about the opportunity to grow our tutoring and summer school programs and embark on our dream of building a learning center for educational professionals. While we are proud of the work we do and the lives we touch in our own classrooms, we long to share our expertise and wisdom about how to help students with learning differences and disabilities reach their social and academic potential with others. Our hope is to equip teachers everywhere to bring Joy to their schools and classrooms, thus allowing students everywhere to benefit from all The Joy School has to offer.

And so the journey from rented classroom space for four students to a “real school,” complete with a gymnasium and whole school gathering space, has continued with the grand opening of the Dick and Mary Watt Activity Center.

If you would like to be more involved in developing The Joy School, visit our Giving page.

If you or a family you know has been impacted by a learning disorder, help spread hope by sharing this post and join us for our next tour.