About Van ISD
Van ISD is a PK-12 public school system located in beautiful East Texas on Interstate 20 in close proximity to Dallas and Tyler. The district consists of five campuses that serve more than 2,400 students. The community of Van is rich in tradition and boasts of its Vandal pride.
At Van ISD, our motto is “After High School Comes Opportunity.” From the moment a child enters our school as a Pre-K or Kindergarten student until the day they graduate from Van High School, we are preaching the importance of higher education.
Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas is now offering an unprecedented opportunity for all of our students. Beginning with our 2016 freshmen class, Van ISD students are eligible to earn two years of tuition and fees through the TJC Promise Scholarship. This awesome opportunity is a game changer for our students. No longer is college a HOPE for our students…the TJC Promise Scholarship makes it a REALITY for all.
At Van ISD, we recognize the major role that technology plays in our ever changing world. In 2013, our district adopted a 1:1 iPad initiative in order to put technology in the hands of every student in our district by 2018. Thanks to the generous donations from Chevron Corporation, Van ISD was able to complete this project two years ahead of schedule.
The Van ISD Board of Trustees along with our faculty and staff are committed to ensuring the success of each and every student.
#WeAreVan
Our History
In the 1880s, the area now known as Van contained a scattered collection of farm houses and a general store. There was no school located close enough for community children to attend regularly. Recognizing the community's need for a school, a local farmer named George W. Swindall donated one acre for the establishment of a community school. The community and the school both came to be known as "Swindall".
The Van School District was officially established in 1903 by the County Commissioners Court. A bond was passed to build a larger school to accomodate the growing enrollment, and in the fall of 1916, "Van Common School" opened! The school opened with 95 students and four teachers: Prof. E.C. Tunnell, Prof. E.R. Tunnell, Miss Eula Fowler, and Miss Lucy Brawner.
The discovery of oil in Van on October 14, 1929, less than a mile from the school building, brought about many changes for the community, including an influx of school-aged children that required the transition from a five-room rural school to a large, ultra-modern school campus. While other Texas schools were forced to make budget cuts because of the Depression, and later WWII, oil revenues enabled Van Schools, led by Superintendent J.E. Rhodes and Principal C.C. Moore, to expand rapidly. The 1929-1930 school year started with 90 pupils, but the start of the 1930-1931 school year began with 611 students!
In the summer of 1930, a gymnasium was built and originally used as a temporary high school. By the start of the 1931-1932 school year, a brick elementary school and a brick high school were ready for use.
Fun Facts About Van ISD's Early Days:
VHS student Helen Laverents wrote the words to the school song, which was selected by the student body as the Alma Mater in 1931.
VHS was the first school in the county to have electric lights on its football field in 1935.
VHS had a lookout station on top of the gym building manned by adults and high school senior boys to document all airplane flights over Van during World War II.
VHS provided night classes in oil related subjects to Pure Oil Company workers, and classes in home canning and sewing to community women during World War II.
Researched and compiled by Linda Mays and Tommie Mayo.