Frisco Remembers Staley Middle School: Community Mourns the Closing of a Beloved Institution

When Staley Middle School in Frisco quietly closed its doors in May 2026 it marked the end of an era that stretched back decades — to a time when Frisco was a small farming town and the building that would become Staley was the only high school for miles around. Weeks after the closing ceremony the memories are still pouring in on social media from former students teachers and parents who say Staley was far more than a school. It was a lifeline. A home away from home. And for many families who arrived in Frisco with little more than hope it was the first place in America that made them feel seen. A Building Rooted in Frisco History Long before Frisco became one of the fastest growing cities in the United States the Staley building served as the original Frisco High School. It later transitioned into Staley Middle School where it would spend decades serving one of the most diverse and underserved student populations in Collin County. Former students remember the pecan trees beside the tennis courts. The walk from what is now the Student Opportunity Center across the baseball field to reach Staley for migrant class and study period. Small details that decades later still live vividly in the memories of those who were there. Teachers Who Went Above and Beyond No tribute to Staley would be complete without honoring the educators who defined it. Sue Wilson Stafford is remembered with deep affection for celebrating Cinco de Mayo with her Hispanic students as far back as 1994 at a time when such gestures of cultural recognition were far from common in Texas classrooms. David Watson brought Texas History alive for ESL students still finding their footing in a new country. Counselor Gail West was a steady compassionate presence for students navigating the overlapping challenges of adolescence and immigration. And band director Chad Wood whose heartfelt posts about Staley in recent weeks have moved an entire community has continued to inspire former students and colleagues long after they left the building. For many the teachers of Staley were the reason they made it through. They stayed late. They showed up on weekends. They cared in ways that went far beyond any job description. Taking Education Into the Community Perhaps the most remarkable chapter in Staley's story was the Frisco Family Tutoring Program. Born from a simple but powerful observation — that many students and families could not come to the school — the program turned that reality on its head. Mustang teachers and staff packed up their materials and headed into apartment communities across Frisco to bring tutoring directly to students where they lived. They dressed in costumes throughout the seasons to make learning feel festive and fun. They organized activities and celebrations. They gave children experiences that many had never had before including for some the first time they had ever seen or touched snow. It was education without walls and it was driven entirely by love for the children in their care. A Full Circle Moment For at least one former Staley student the closing carries a particularly powerful meaning. After attending Staley as a student in the early 1990s she returned in 2008 as an ESL aide helping a new generation of students learn Texas History in the same classrooms where she had once sat as a child herself. The full circle of that experience from student to educator within the same walls captures something essential about what Staley represented. It was the kind of place that drew people back. Because what happened inside those walls was worth coming back to. The End of an Era Frisco ISD has not announced final plans for the property. The closing reflects the sweeping transformation of a district that is building new campuses at a rapid pace to serve one of the fastest growing student populations in all of Texas. Growth is the defining story of modern Frisco and sometimes growth requires letting go of what came before. But for the community Staley served — the migrant students the ESL families the teachers who returned year after year and the parents who showed up to tutoring nights held in parking lots and apartment courtyards — no new building will ever replace what was built here. The memories of Staley Middle School live on in the people it shaped. In the students who grew up to become educators. In the teachers who still post about it weeks after the final bell rang. In everyone who ever crossed that baseball field on the way to class and felt for the first time that they belonged somewhere. Once a Mustang always a Mustang. Staley Middle School. Frisco Texas. Go Mustangs.