Hadley Middle graduated two football stars. Today, students strive to ‘do the right thing’

Hadley Middle School

Address: 1101 Dougherty, near Ninth and West Street

Enrollment: 507 — 41% Hispanic, 34% white, 17% Black

Opened: 1958

Today, Hadley Middle School is known for its championship Blue Devil track teams, for its annual first-day-of-school “red carpet” event that always welcomes sixth-graders in style, and for its students who “do the right thing ‘cause it’s the right thing to do” — a popular saying at the school.

But back in the 1950s, the spot near Orchard Park where Hadley now sits was family-owned farm land, purchased from the Ernest Clark family in cooperation with the Wichita park department. Part of the land became the sites for Hadley and Bryant Elementary School.

Named for prominent west-sider and onetime city commissioner William Spencer Hadley, the school opened in the fall of 1958 as Hadley Junior High. The 103,000-square-foot building was designed to hold 1,000 students but opened with an enrollment of 432.

Hadley experienced overcrowding a few times over the decades, necessitating portable classrooms: once in 1969, when enrollment swelled to 1,434, and again in 1995, when it approached 1,000. In 1988, all Wichita ninth graders were moved to high schools, and in 1989, Hadley Junior High became Hadley Middle School when it added sixth graders.

The school has seen many now-famous faces pass through its halls. Football legend Barry Sanders was a Hadley Blue Devil, as was Rashad Washington, who played for the New York Jets from 2004 to 2007.

Mark McCormick, a former Wichita Eagle writer and Kansas African American Museum director who now works as a deputy director at ACLU of Kansas, also graduated from Hadley in the early 1980s. He still remembers his middle school English teacher, Alice Lewis, who was one of only two Black teachers he had until he got to college.

“She was the first person to tell me not only that I could write but that I might be able to make a living being able to write,” he said. “She never got her due. But she was one of the most influential people in my life.”

Many other teachers over the years also had an impact on the lives of those who attended Hadley. One was William Hubert, who died last year but worked in Wichita public schools from 1975 until he retired in 2005. He taught many classes at Hadley, from history to English to martial arts. One former student, Phong Nguyen, described him as “one of the greatest educators in history. This man single-handedly molded so many lives.”

Hadley is still filled with caring staff, said Taylor Martin, who has worked as Principal Ron Stubbs’ assistant for the past three years. She describes the school as family oriented, and many teachers and staff members serve as sounding boards to kids with troubled home lives.

“Everybody’s super close,” she said. “We love our kids. We love our staff. It’s just a safe environment.”

The Hadley community is proud of its building, which is newer than many and has two gymnasiums, a track that was recently refurbished, and an auditorium, Martin said. The gyms and track are a particular point of pride for the school’s volleyball, cross country, track and basketball teams.

Hadley students look forward to earning Blue Devil Bucks, which they can use to buy snacks, and to the school’s annual spelling bee. At Christmastime, the school’s teachers compete in a “best door decoration” contest, and one of its para educators was recently asked to present a session on his Hadley hip-hop class to the Kansas Music Educators Association Conference.

Hadley also has special programs for kids with behavior issues as well as a “mixed abilities” program for students with special needs. It maintains a clothes closet for students in need of clothing or shoes, which are provided at no cost.

“It’s used everyday,” Martin said.

A Facebook group designed for people who attended Hadley from 1991 to 1994 has been full of people reminiscing about their time there since the list of schools up for closure was made public.

Several say they want to walk through at least one more time, including Sasha Ordaz. She wants to see a mural that her childhood best friend, Carrie, painted on the walls before she graduated from the school. She said she plans to reach out to Hadley to see if the two can take one last look.

“We are 44 years old now,” Ordaz said. “But I will never forget those days in middle school.”