When she was growing up, Juanita Anderson’s mother advised her “to get all of the education that you can, and be good.”
On May 29, friends and extended family from Stonewall Jackson Elementary School will honor Juanita’s 32-year commitment to her mother’s words.
Juanita Anderson Day will cap a month-long celebration at Jackson honoring Juanita, who is retiring as principal after 14 years.
Juanita is credited with helping “mainstream” Jackson’s hearing-impaired students into regular classrooms in 1978, which led to teaching sign language to all students.
In 1982, Juanita was honored with the Premier Principal Award by the Texas Congress of P.T.A. In 1989, she received the Positive Parents of Dallas Apple of the Month Award for Outstanding DISD Principal, which is awarded to one district principal each year.
“I love children,” she says. “I believe children must feel accepted and feel good about themselves before they can learn.
“One of the most important lessons to learn is to get along with others and to treat others as equal human beings. I think all of us teach children by our example.”
The Juanita L. Anderson Endowment for the Literary Arts has been established to help purchase library materials. Donations can be sent to Stonewall Jackson P.T.A.; for information, call 841-5160
