May 22, 2025 || On this day, Carter Junior High celebrated its Final Farewell.
Carter Junior High opened near Park Row and Collins in 1958, when Arlington’s population was less than 45,000. The junior high educated thousands of students throughout the decades, and many had fond memories of walking its halls and learning in its classrooms.
J. I. Carter Junior High (1958-1959)
Photo Credit: AISD and Carter Junior High
As part of a nearly $1 billion bond voters approved in 2019, the AISD planned to demolish the aging school and replace it with another, named in honor of Joey Rodriguez, who coached soccer at Sam Houston High School for 12 years. Tragically, he died in 2021 from COVID-19 at age 44. Joey Rodriguez Junior High is expected to open in Fall 2025 and will be AISD’s first three-story campus. Sized at 155,000 square feet, the school will accommodate approximately 1,500 students and feature 48 classrooms.
Carter Junior High held its Final Farewell on May 22, giving teachers, students, and the community one last look at the campus. The event featured a brief program followed by tours. It was the end of an era, and bittersweet for those attending.
Photo Credit: AISD and Carter Junior High
But who was Carter?
School namesake James Ira Carter (1862-1945) was born in Tennessee and came to Arlington in 1894. Carter was an avid supporter of education, particularly the Arlington Independent School District and the North Texas Agricultural College, now known as UTA. Notably, for AISD, he assisted in organizing the first school board and also served four times as its president; for NTAC, he served as chairman of the advertising fund.
Carter began serving as Arlington’s postmaster in 1897; he was also elected to the positions of city secretary and city tax collector. A Mason for decades and a well-respected civic leader, he helped organize the first Good Roads Association in Tarrant County to improve the county’s highways.
Carter died in 1945, at age 82, with burial at Arlington Cemetery.
Newspapers.com | Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 21, 1945 (excerpt)
Resources
- Arlington Report | New Arlington ISD junior high celebrates namesake as construction reaches milestone
- AISD | Carter Junior High
Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 05-22-25
Jason S. Sullivan 