Principal reflects on full-circle moment at beloved Oak Cliff academy

A beloved Oak Cliff school is coming down, but the legacy will continue.

O.W. Holmes Academy will soon break ground on a new multi-million-dollar facility. But that wasn’t going to happen before those who walked the halls took sacred time to reflect on their days as students.

The walls will crumble, but Principal Sharron Jackson said the memories are indelible.

“In those halls, I was disciplined, given all the right tools to compete academically, learned all the right social skills,” Jackson said.

For Jackson, becoming principal at O.W. Holmes Academy was a full-circle moment.

“I was a student. Then I served in 2004 as the assistant principal,” she said. “Then I came back in 2015 as the principal. So, it’s in my blood.”

Jackson shared old newspaper clippings where she’s photographed with the basketball team as a student-athlete. She’s a proud product of Holmes and a daughter of Oak Cliff.

“This is my neighborhood, so I know it personally,” said Jackson.

It’s why what’s coming is bittersweet. The school that played such a critical role in the woman she is today will be replaced with a new facility. This week, students, past and present, gathered to write special messages on the walls that hold so many pivotal moments.

Alumna Diane Collins said the love for the school transcends generations.

“Almost everyone in the neighborhood went here. My grandkids went here. My kids went here,” Collins said.

The school was recently renamed the John Lewis Justice Academy at O.W. Holmes. Over the next year, Dallas ISD is expected to make an $80 million investment for a new, upgraded facility. Principal Jackson said she’s excited about the possibilities and reputation that will extend beyond the campus into the 75216 ZIP code.

“We want to be responsible for building it, claiming it as our own,” she said.

The new school is expected to break ground at the start of 2025.