Teaching Hard Lessons: Honoring Bernice Hart

Ensuring Quality Education for All

Words by Abby L. Johnson Photos by Will Bowling

Austinite Bernice Hart dedicated thirty years as a teacher and counselor to Austin students before moving to the AISD Board of Trustees, where she used her powerful voice to advocate for the well-being and education of all children.

After a fulfilling, long-lasting career as an educator, Bernice set out on a mission to effect change throughout the district, spurring a decade long stint on AISD’s board. During her tenure on the board, she was a champion for students and teachers alike, putting their wellbeing above all. 

The choices Bernice was tasked with as a member were not always easy nor well-received.
In the 1980s, it was still a common practice in the district to bus children of color across neighborhoods, beginning as early as kindergarten. Some of these young students were on their bus for well over an hour, even though there was often a neighborhood school much closer to their home. On April 15, 1987, the Statesman reported that Bernice was the only minority trustee to vote in favor of a plan that eliminated ‘most elementary school busing for desegregation purposes.’ The contemporary president of the Austin chapter of the NAACP, Gary Bledsoe, publicly spoke against her choice along with community members. But Bernice stood by her vote stating, “My main concern was to get our little, bitty babies off those buses at 7 a.m…I really feel, in my heart, that I did the right thing.” 

Bernice’s philosophy was one of self-determination and simply doing what was best for her students, even when larger forces were against her. During her 1989 campaign for re-election to the board, Bernice boldly proclaimed, “I will not yield to the selfish whims of political hierarchy. With me, the kids come first. Isn’t that what education should be about?” This conviction of hers was unwaveringly woven throughout her career and is the bedrock of her legacy. “She was dedicated to all children, regardless of race, color, or creed,” nephew Otis McCullough said of her work as an educator and leader of the district. “One thing I remember is her strong conviction, her courage to stand up regardless of whether she was the only one standing,” noted Cheryl Bradley, who was, at the time, the Austin Trustee for District 1. 

Bernice passed away in 2012. Her legacy lives on at Bernice Hart Early College Prep Elementary, an East Austin school renamed in her honor in 1998, and in the policies she helped to establish for the betterment of the district. 

Funding for Priority Schools 
According to an Austin American Statesman article titled School’s Out for Board Member by Tim Lott published on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1993, in response to Bernice Hart’s retirement from the AISD board announcement, Bernice pushed hard for priority schools after the district converted from the busing model to neighborhood elementary school model. Priority schools are elementary schools that receive extra funding based on the socioeconomic status of their student body,

*Quotes, documents, and images supplied by Austin History Center and private collection of Joshua Brunsmann.