On Sept. 8, 1953, McCallum High School opened its doors for the first time. The school, which was built to help relieve overflow from Austin High, enlisted its incoming students to develop the school’s identity and strengthen student pride.

“We were all at Baker Junior High School,” class of ‘57 alum Maggie Slocum said. “We are the ones who got to open a new school. So we were very powerful. No. 1, we just had to figure out who are we going to be, and we decided we were going to be some Knights. Because the word McCallum, it’s an old name from over in the English part of the world where the Knights were originally.”

The school’s doors opened with a freshly selected mascot but was still physically unfinished, lacking several wings and a gymnasium. According to Carl Shepherd, one of the builders who helped work on the school’s construction, additions continued to be made for years after its initial opening. 

“They just kept adding and adding and adding,” Shepherd said. “They opened it in phases, and I was still working out there. I worked out there for a couple years and we just gradually kept building.”

Even today, the school continues to expand to meet the needs of its growing population. Most recently, this has been seen by the construction of a new dance building, funded by the 2017 Bond. 

“I’m excited about having a really beautiful space to promote creativity in our students,” dance director Natalie Uehara said. “And also, we have a great reputation as McCallum dance but just having a good facility will also attract more students to our school.”

The Fine Arts Academy, founded in 1994, has become one of the unique offerings that McCallum is known for. Even before the academy though, school curriculum and activities centered around the arts.

“We really had a great drama group,” Slocum said. “And, if we beat or didn’t beat any other schools, we didn’t care because we were cutting all kinds of new roads over here.” 

Although the school building has undergone changes in its 70 years, the heart of it is still the same. 

“I’m astounded that it’s all more than recognizable, it’s actually preserved,” Slocum said. “You all have been kind to us, and let us have our school because it’s in our dreams and in our stories.”