Chase Street Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization collection

Chase Street Elementary School, originally named Chase Street School when it opened in 1922, is a historic pillar of the Boulevard neighborhood and the greater Athens, GA community. The school is located on North Chase Street, and situated between Prince Avenue and Boulevard. The property that Chase Street Elementary School resides on was once used as a site for Spring Training for The New York Yankees, a Major League Baseball Team, and The Buffalo Buffeds (later renamed the Buffalo Blues) who belonged to the Federal League, a minor league. The property was later used for a circus. After opening its doors for kindergarten through fifth grade education, Chase Street Elementary opened a playground to the community in 1928. In 2008, Chase Street Elementary School underwent reconstruction and historic preservation to add a new wing and preserve elements of the original building.

Chase Street started to desegregate their classrooms and teaching staff in 1966. The Clarke County School district would go on to officially desegregate the district in 1970. Johnnie Lay Burks was the first Black teacher to join the Chase Street Elementary staff in 1966, and the first class of Black students enrolled during the 1965-66 school year.

The PTO and Athens City and Clarke County Education Associations materials were previously housed in available Chase Street Elementary closet space. In 2012, Chase Street Elementary teachers compiled the Parent Teacher Organization scrapbook materials to teach fifth-graders lessons on writing, technology, and history through an Athens history project. Students went on to create a website to document historic photos of Chase Elementary School at http://normaltown.net/chase/ using images from the scrapbooks and images provided by community members.