In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many German and French families settled in the Klein community. Many of their children attended The French School, which was active from 1914-1927. The French school was on Hildebrandt property on the southeast corner of Rhodes Road and Spring Stuebner. When the French School was discontinued, the building was moved to the west end of the Klein High School Building of 1938, where the present Klein Administration Building is located. Eventually, the building was sold to the Kleb family and was moved to their property on Spring-Cypress.

In the 1920’s the French School was a one room school house on Spring-Stuebner Road. One teacher taught from twenty to thirty students in grades one through seven in the little country school. In 1989, the Klein Historical Foundation held a reunion of the French School students. Fourteen students who had attended the school from 1914 to 1927 were able to attend the reunion. The former students reminisced about life at The French School.

In the one room school house chores assigned to the students included bringing the wood for the wood burning stove, sweeping the school house, and fetching water from the neighbor’s well across the road (half the water usually spilled out during the trip). When the school was remodeled in 1924, the refurbished school had its own well, and everyone drank out of the same bucket. Lunches were brought from home, usually in a syrup pail. Homemade bread and sausage were the standard fare which students ate outside under the pine trees. The former students recalled that there was always a spelling bee on Friday and students rarely misbehaved. Few students were able to continue their education past the seventh grade as their help on the family farm was a necessity at that time.

French Elementary is proud to honor the following French families.

Arceneaux

Bonin

Boudreaux

Boulet

DeChaumes

Haggerty

Henry

LeLeux

Melancon

Pevateaux

Pillot

Roland

Sellers