Our School

 

History

(Dr. Higdon combined Glasva School, which opened in 1924, and Wayside School, which opened in 1951.)

Born on Feb. 18, 1868, at Planter's Delight near Pisgah, Dr. Thomas L. Higdon attended Charles County Schools and graduated from the Charlotte Hall Military Academy in 1889. After several years of teaching, he entered medical school in Baltimore and received his doctorate degree in 1898.

Later he married Ella Norris who owned the property where Dr. Higdon Elementary School and Piccowaxen Middle School are located. From his office at Pleasant View, Wayside, he faithfully served the community as a physician for the next five decades, reaching even his most remote patients by horse and buggy until he switched to a Model-T Ford in 1914. Dr. Higdon died in 1957 at the age of 89.

Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School is a consolidation of the school populations of the former Glasva and Wayside schools.

Glasva School, located in Faulkner, opened in 1924. It became an elementary and junior high school in 1949. It was renamed Glasva Elementary School when it reopened in 1964 after renovations.

Wayside School, located where Higdon is now, was built as a result of a long campaign in the late 1940s as a school for black students.

Source: Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Dedication Ceremony Program, June 1989. Photograph reprinted through the courtesy of the school.

Vision

Dr. Higdon Elementary School empowers all students to embrace learning, develop a growth mind-set to achieve their personal best, and increase their capacity to build relationships using empathy and kindness.