CULLMAN, Ala. – East Elementary School, originally called City School upon its opening in 1936, has been a part of Cullman’s history for almost a century.
It’s the school eventual President Ronald Reagan visited when he passed through the area in 1975, and newspaper clippings from that visit still hang in the hall. It’s the school that still bears the same high ceilings and hardwood floors from when it first opened its doors in 1936. It’s the school where almost four generations of Cullmanites learned to read and write. It’s the school that has been producing “East Beasts” as far back as anyone still around can remember.
And in 2026, East Elementary School celebrates its 90th anniversary. It’s a moment where the community looks ahead to the school’s final year in 2027, before the campus then transitions into the new pre-K school for Cullman City Schools (relocating that program from the Cullman City Primary School campus) and all elementary students move in to the brand new Cullman Intermediate School being built at the West Elementary campus. And it’s a moment where Cullman looks back at the role East Elementary has played as a crucial community hub for decades.
“I’m so blessed to be the last principal at East, to be a part of this journey,” current East Elementary School Principal Melanie Harris said. “This place is home for so many people. It’s a living piece of history.”
This year is an opportunity to reminisce on East’s legacy, its impact on the people of Cullman and the role it played in shaping so many who have grown into leaders in this community. To that end, Cullman City Schools embarked on a months-long effort to reconnect with former school leaders, students, teachers and more to look back on 90 years of East Elementary. The result of all that hard work is a series of video retrospectives featuring the people who shaped East — and were shaped by East — sharing their memories and stories from across the years.
“East is important to this community because it’s a unique neighborhood school with historic character,” Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said. “There’s something special about the sounds of children playing on the playground throughout the school day. The city leaders and school administration have done a wonderful job preserving the campus of East. But bricks and wood only make schools good — it’s the students, the employees and families who make schools great.”
School Board Member David Wiggins, who spent 17 years as principal of East from 2006-2023, noted the school has changed names and its grade levels several times since its inception as the City School back in the 1930s — and its next change is just the latest step in that legacy.
“For me, the biggest part of East Elementary is the history. It was part of the Great Depression to get people back to work. It was a public works project at the time,” Wiggins explained. “To be a part of that, a place where families have been here for a generation, means so much. I remember having students who their parents and grandparents attended school there. It’s a legacy to this community. The name may change, but it’s still the same school. The history will never change.”
Jim Miller, who served as principal at East Elementary for the better part of a decade across the 1990s, said he still remembers his tenure at the school fondly. From checking in on the campus during a massive snowstorm, to memorable student projects, and seeing classroom lights on at all hours of the night from teachers working hard on their lesson plans. Those are the memories he still holds onto all these years later.
“I had the honor of working with some fantastic people. It was a special group. I think our mantra at the time was ‘Every Child, Every Day,’ and that was our focus. We tried to make decisions based on what was best for the kids,” he said. “My favorite time was just walking around. I knew the names of all the kids at the time, and that was just a fun, joyous experience for me.”
Remember East Elementary’s legacy by watching the video features below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZOgE557OKg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-lglhVO6k
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nzCWoI6IDY
