A. J. Moore High School National Alumni Association

Tributes to Teachers

The influence of a good teacher can never be erased!

Out teachers at Moore High School helped shape the future of their students for generations to come. Firstly, our teachers played an important role in our lives that began by getting us to feel good about ourselves. They recognized that this would carry over to anything we would do in our post-secondary pursuits and in life in general.

Our teachers inspired us on so many levels that it is difficult to begin describing them. It is even harder to imagine how they created in us such a desire to learn with only a chalk board, a piece of chalk, textbook and a lectern. Many of our teachers were hardworking and highly committed to teaching. They were outstanding teachers, motivators, mentors, surrogate-parents, role models, empowering agents, and whatever else they needed to be to get us to reach our full potential.

Our teachers prepared us to become productive citizens in a global society. We now fully recognize that “to teach is to touch life forever” and that the “influence of a of a good teacher can never be erased.”

We are grateful for our Superhero Faculty and Staff!

Our Teachers Were Superheroes!

Principal, Dr. J.J. Wilson, Master Teacher

There is perhaps no other principal in the history of segregated schools in Central Texas that has had more impact on students, teachers, and parents than Dr. Joseph Jeffries Wilson who was affectionately known as Professor J. J. Wilson. His career in education spanned more than forty years in the Waco Community… 37 of them as Principal of A. J. Moore High. With the closing of Moore High, Professor Wilson became the first Black to be appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools in the Waco Independent School District.

At Moore High School, Professor Wilson could be likened to a Master/Head Teacher as he facilitated the development of a broader vision for the academic and social development of students as a focal point. Then he clearly communicated this vision to teachers and staff while demanding a rigorous course of study in all areas. In addition, teachers and staff were encouraged to get involved in extra- curricular activities. He led by example, by nurturing and supporting teachers as they overcame barriers, solved problems which enabled students to develop and internalize a set of core values, skills and essential knowledge which would help them achieve their fullest potential.

Wilson 1967

Mrs. O. E. White, Mathematics

Mrs. O. E. White was a tenured teacher of Mathematics teacher at A. J. Moore High School, where she chaired the Mathematics Department for many years. Additionally, she taught the more advanced mathematics courses. Mrs. White accomplished extremely impressive results with students who might best be described as disadvantaged as well as with gifted and talented students. In the words of William G. Spady, Mrs. White realized, “All students can learn and succeed, but not in the same way and on the same day.”

Mrs. White, like a visionary, had an eye for detecting students with superior mathematical skills, and nurtured them such that they attained great heights in their post-secondary pursuits.

Mrs. White was a “stickler for time on task.” She very often redirected a student’s off-task behavior through spatial proximity, while simultaneously saying, “time wasted is money wasted.” She recognized that there is a definite positive correlation between time on task and high student gains.

Mrs. White believed in educating the total child and actively supported extra- curricular activities. She was a long-serving Senior Student Council Sponsor as well as an Elm Wood Y-Teens Sponsor.

Mrs. Loyce Hodges Wilkins, Business Education Teacher

Mrs. Loyce Hodges Wilkins is the oldest known alumnus and teacher of A. J. Moore High School; she became a centenarian in 2016.

Mrs. Wilkins began her career at A. J. Moore High School as the school secretary and became a teacher there a year later. She inspired and mentored countless number of alumni throughout her illustrious tenure in the business education department which began in 1945. She chaired the Business Education Department for decades. Mrs. Wilkins demonstrated a caring, nurturing teaching style which positively impacted her classroom climate. It is safe to say that she recognized that the teacher is the single greatest determinant of student achievement.

Mrs. Wilkins succeed in fostering positive teacher-student relationships outside the classroom. She supported extra-curricular activities and sponsored the Drill Team untiringly for many years. Under her supervision, the Drill Team performed with utmost efficiency and ability. Additionally, she encouraged student participation in and sponsored students in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Competitions. Mrs. Wilkins also eagerly and enthusiastically served as a Senior Class Sponsor as she and her colleagues endeavored to ensure that senior activities were highly memorable.

Mrs. Loyce Hodges Wilkins worked unselfishly with a faculty and staff who encouraged students to reach their full potential.

Wilkins AJMHS Library

A.J. Moore High School National Alumni Association is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1973 in Waco, Texas, and has been strongly supporting deserving students and their descendants for the past 45 years.

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