School History

Elder Augustus Olle (March 19, 1902 - August 7, 1977)

Mr. E. A. Olle (portrait on the right), third of four children, was born on March 19, 1902, in Dewitt County, Texas. On October 19, 1922, Mr. E. A. Olle married Josephine Petrosky. A job at Petrosky Blacksmith Shop in 1932 brought the Olle family to Alief. Soon thereafter, Mr. E. A. Olle began working for Harris Country Road Maintenance Division until his retirement in 1967.

After retirement in 1967, to keep from being idle, he accepted a job with Alief ISD. His jobs varied from operating heavy equipment to leveling school grounds to handling the mail of all the Alief schools.

In addition to his employment, Mr. E. A. Olle served the community as a member of the school board (1936-1940) and as a Volunteer Fire Chief for fourteen years.

His wife, Josephine, took her first job in 1965, working in the cafeteria at Youens Elementary School. She retired from Hastings High School in 1990.

The School Board named the school after E. A. Olle because of his long and dedicated service to the Alief schools and community.

Mrs. Josephine Olle passed away in 2000 and Mr. E. A. Olle passed away in 1977.

Principals of Olle Middle School

Dr. Robert Schmacher (1974-1980)

Dr. Marilyn Meell (1980-1984)

Linda Sheehan (1984-1992)

Patricia Paquin (1992-1995)

McMorris Mitchell (1995-1999)

Bernadean Dixon (1999-2003)

Dr. Jacquelyn Armwood (2003-2007)

Cassandra Dyson (2007-2011)

Nelda Billescas (2011-2021)

Matthew Skiles (2021-2024)

Dr. Colina Poullard (2024-present)

Olle Middle School Teachers Of The Year

1991: Gaye Lynn Talley

2006: Annette Thorpe

1992: Dianne Lee***

2007: Jeannie Miles

1993: Nancy Loupe

2008: ViLisa Terry

1994: Jennifer Faulkner

2009: Roderick Graves

1995: Delphine Hadley Fontenot*

2010: Veronica L. Banks

1996: Jack D. Bell

2011: Natasha Burton

1997: Maria del Carmen Neel*

2012: Robert Christian

1998: George Tennison**

2013: Sandra Rapp

1999: Cheryl Calame*

2014: Royce Thibodeaux

2000: Anna M. Etuk

2015: Shawanda Spurlock

2001: Cleo Wadley

2016: Leah Friar

2002: Janice Henderson

2017: Troy Thomas

2003: Mary Matthews

2018: Dr. Christopher Lacy*

2004: Linda Scroggins

2019: Amelia Cote**

2005: Thomas W. Graham, Jr.

2020: Raymond Mason

2021: Heather Lafon

2022: Samson Varughese

2023: Demetris Montgomery

* Finalist for Alief ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year

** Alief ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year

*** Alief ISD and Region IV Teacher of the Year

Unfortunately, we do not have records for Olle Teachers of the Year prior to 1991. We would greatly appreciate information regarding previous Teachers of the Year. 

In addition to the above Teacher of the Year awards, the following teachers received awards for their involvement in STEM.

2017: Samyka Leaston, CITGO Educator of the Year

2018: Tanya Onwuchuruba, CITGO Teacher of the Year

2019: Amelia Cote, Alief STEM Teacher of the Year

Olle Middle School Important Dates

Monday, March 4th, 1974

Following spring break, sixth-graders who began the year at Boone Elementary and Smith Elementary report to Olle Middle School.

Sunday, October 27th, 1974

Olle Middle School is dedicated alongside Mr. E. A. Olle and his wife Josephine.

1976

Olle Middle School graduates its first eighth-grade class.

Thursday, June 24, 1982

Olle Middle School is damaged by fire. Normally, repairs would have taken six months, but with hard work and long hours, reconstruction was completed in sixty days.

1987

Olle eighth-grader Nhan Nguyen wins the Houston Chronicle East Texas Spelling Bee and goes on to represent Olle at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

1989-1990

Olle hosts the very first evening teacher workshop for the newly-created Houston Area Middle School Association (HAMSA).

1989-1990

Olle Counselors Richard Bottorff and Doris Johnson start Teens Assisting Peers (TAP), one of the first middle school peer counseling programs in Texas.

1990-1991

Olle is named a National Exemplary School by the United States Department of Education.

 1996

Olle receives a new science wing, along with a remodeled cafeteria that allows food to be prepared on campus for the first time. The industrial technology room is repurposed to become the career technology education room.

1998

Olle receives the Mayor's Education Excellence Award from Mayor Bob Lanier and is designated as a Lamplighter School by the Walter Annenberg Foundation.

1998-1999

Olle Middle School educates its final sixth-grade class. In 2001, these students become the final class to attend Olle for three years.

1999

Under the direction of former Olle assistant principal Dave Stokan, soccer is added as an interscholastic sport at the middle school level.

2001

All three academies (formerly house areas) are gutted and rebuilt so that all classrooms are fully enclosed with walls and doors. Lockers are moved from the main hallways into the academies. Painted graphics are added in the gym, cafeteria, and hallways.

2001-2003

Olle Middle School is recognized by Texas Monthly magazine as a five-star school.

2004

Olle student Sylvana Loc wins the National Junior Forensic League National Championship in original oration.

2005 and 2013

Olle Middle School wins the district Academic Plus championship.

2009-2010

Olle is designated as a recognized campus by the Texas Education Agency.

2012

Olle Middle Schools hosts their first interscholastic speech tournament.

2013

Baseball and softball are added as interscholastic sports at the middle school level.

 Saturday, October 25th, 2014

Olle Middle School is Rededicated.

Fall 2014

Olle Middle School creates the STEM Academy. The 7th-grade STEM students will later graduate in 2016 as the first STEM graduation class at Olle.

2015

Olle is designated at a T-STEM School by the Texas Education Agency.

Wednesday, Jan 31, 2018

Olle's gymnasium is dedicated and named the Dwight Mitchell Gymnasium.

September 18, 2018

With the approval of the Alief ISD School Board, Olle STEM Academy becomes CITGO Innovation Academy at Olle Middle School after partnering with CITGO since 2014.

August 2018

Olle receives a second gymnasium.

Portrait of Mr. E. A. Olle

Portrait of Mr. E. A. Olle

E. A. Olle Middle School building

E. A. Olle Middle School building

Quilt presented by long-time Olle Registrar Kathy Ernest at Olle's rededication in 2014

Quilt presented by long-time Olle Registrar Kathy Ernest at Olle's rededication in 2014