Skinner Middle School as we know it today has changed very much from what it used to be. When Skinner was first opened in 1922, for instance, everything used to be separated by gender. (Two pools, two gyms, and even a secret wall that separates each half of the building) When it was first built in 1921, Skinner was expected to cost $500,000, which is equal to $8,568,324.02 today! But, one of the biggest challenges was naming Skinner.
World War I led to huge population increases, and more student enrollment. As a result, Denver Public Schools (DPS) started building more schools to follow this additional enrollment. Skinner was commonly known as North Side Junior High. But by February 1920, DPS thought it would be a good idea to name the school after Roger Woodbury who had done a lot for the Denver community, and had died about 17 years before. But, Woodbury Branch Library on Federal Blvd. acquired his name instead. Before the decision was made, residents of the neighborhood wanted to honor Elizabeth Hope Skinner, who was a well respected teacher and principal. She always encouraged the best from her students, and was focused on child-centered learning. An additional reason for their naming Skinner after her, was her immediate death in 1917. The neighborhood in which she taught missed her dearly, and wanted to commemorate her with Skinner.
When Skinner first opened, it was grades 7 through 9. The first principal was Emma M. Brown who led Skinner from 1922 to 1939. When she led the school, there were two roof gardens for open-air classes, two gyms, two pools, an auditorium seating 1,050, and eight vocational training rooms, or Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes. They included carpentry, mechanical drawing, woodworking, foraging, auto repair, sewing, cooking and art. Gym was not considered a CTE class. Today, there are also music classes like choir and orchestra, and many are no longer here like carpentry, mechanical drawing, and foraging.
Mrs. Charles E. Keepers (Louise E. Keepers) and Miss Bell Skinner were two of Elizebeth Skinner’s sisters who donated money every year for two gold medals awarded to the boy and girl winners of the Elizabeth Hope Skinner Dramatic Contest, a series of contests held each semester. Skinner’s sisters were a great help to Skinner Middle School, and left plenty of money for the coming contests.
Lastly, the school newspaper called the Skinner Citizen first appeared in 1923. The Skinner Citizen today is named after the newspaper then. When Skinner first opened in 1922, there were 1,184 students enrolled, and in 1936, there were 1,429 students! But today, there are only 644 students. Skinner has changed much throughout time, but some has not changed at all.
Credit: https://skinner.dpsk12.org/2022/09/30/origins-of-skinner-junior-high-middle-school-part-1-choosing-a-name/,
Photo Credit: Skinner Middle School, Find a Grave
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