Ridgetop School history of Austin, Texas not forgotten revisited.

Ridgetop School was established in 1908 as an elementary school that had served grades 1 through 6 and was established at the location of 5005 Caswell Avenue in Austin, Texas. Ridgetop School had its own school district called Ridgetop School District (Ridgetop Independent School District) that was operated by Austin Public School (now Austin ISD) for Austin/Travis County from 1908 to 1950.

Ridgetop School was built as a hexagon shaped building in the year of 1908. This hexagon shaped building was two stories tall and had at least 3 chimneys. The school had 4 rooms at first and was later expanded to have 7 rooms to accommodate a growing student population. 1 outhouse served the entire school. During the 1908-1909 school year, students in grades 5 and 6 were all taught and educated in one room. Students in grades 5 and 6 were all taught and educated in one room with students in lower grades until 1910.

Grades 5 and 6 were no longer taught in a one room setting by 1910. Classes for grades 5 and 6 were held in separate rooms. One room educated 5th grade and one room educated 6th grade. By 1910, Ridgetop School received maintenance remodels to the school building to accommodate a then growing student population.

This school would eventually serve grades 1 through 7 by the mid-20th century. Although Ridgetop School taught 7th grade, school stopped after 6th grade. 7th grade students transferred to Austin ISD and attended school at Allan Junior High School, University Junior High School, Baker Junior High School (Baker School), Burnet Middle School, Lanier Junior High School (Lanier Junior/Senior High School which is now Lanier High School), or Lamar Middle School. However most 7th grade students from Ridgetop School attended Allan Junior High School, University Junior High School, Burnet Middle School, or Lamar Middle School.


1 outhouse served the entire school which later expanded to 2 outhouses by 1920. In 1920 the Ridgetop School had 3 outhouses. A fourth chimney was added to the school in 1929.

The school grew to have 50 students by 1930. Although Ridgetop School boasted an attendance roster of 50 students for the whole student population of Ridgetop School, the daily attendance on average was 30-40 students a day. Ridgetop School was a 1-6 school in 1930. The fourth chimney was renovated for the school in 1930. Ridgetop School received maintenance upgrades and building remodels to the school building to accommodate a then growing student population in the year of 1930.

In 1939, a new brick school building was constructed and Ridgetop School became a part of Austin ISD. This modern school building was built as a 1 story building. The old Ridgetop School building was demolished. The outhouses were filled with dirt from a local quarry.

Ridgetop Independent School District was abolished and merged into Austin ISD in 1939. The school district was shut down immediately. (Ref: Sebastian Wren, Ridgetop Elementary Celebrates 70 Years)

 
In 1950 during the 1950-1951 school is when the school building had gotten more improvements made. The school now had a full functioning plumbing system. Ridgetop School was renamed to Ridgetop Elementary School in 1969.

In 1980, AISD officials announced plans to reorganize Ridgetop School into an alternative school that would serve students with multiple handicaps. However plans were shot down due to parental opposition. Ridgetop School became a 1-5 school in 1980.

Today Ridgetop School is a K-5 school for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. The school no longer educates 6th grade students. Ridgetop School is located at 5005 Caswell Avenue, Austin, Texas, US 78751.