Mike Wolanin | The Republic John Hatter, left, talks with Phil Houston, former principal of Columbus East High School, during a ceremony to induct U.S. Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter into the Columbus East Alumni Wall of Fame at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.
“If you think about footprints left behind in the history of the school, you’re hard pressed to find someone that may have more.”
Phil Houston, a beloved local educator who served as Columbus East High School principal for nearly a quarter-century, died this week at the age of 85.
Those who knew him said Houston leaves behind a transformative legacy that brought East from an “experiment” to respected educational institution. Conversations with former students and staff illuminate a man passionate about his community with the vision and tools to help it reach its potential.
Houston was the second principal in East’s history from 1977 until 1998. When he arrived, Columbus High School had just recently split and East stood in stark contrast to North, which was more of a traditional high school.
East had the only open campus in the city, affording students freedom that some say was akin to a college environment. If students didn’t have a class during one of their modules during the day, they didn’t have to attend a study hall. Students could go to different areas of the school to find a cubicle to continue their studies.
“It was a very empowering environment if you used it properly,” said Bryan Hanner, who graduated in 1980. “I’m sure it took someone a little bit different to embrace that.”
Often, Houston would be roaming the hallways, sparking up conversations with students. The open-concept encountered some resistance at first, but Houston was someone who could make it work, those that knew him said.
Cheryl Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury, a retired English teacher who spent 35 years at East and was a part of the first batch of teachers at the school, remembers Houston’s early tenure.
“(The teachers) weren’t sure what the open concept would really be like,” Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury said. “I think he was the perfect person at the right time,” she said.
“It was a very big change for Columbus and Phil was charged with managing this experiment,” said Chuck Wells, former publisher of The Republic who graduated from East in 1989.
Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury said Houston was intent on East getting the same respect as North. That focus would sometimes manifest itself through Houston’s uncanny attention to detail. Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury recalls Houston physically bending down to pick up scraps of paper off the floor or using a dust rag to wipe off his car before heading home for the day.
“There was nobody the staff wanted to impress more. He really held us together, we wanted to be a good teacher for him,” she said.
Houston was a stalwart defender of staff, engendering loyalty that often saw faculty stay for decade-plus stints.
Mark Meier, now a social studies teacher at East, graduated from the school in 1990. He came to work for “Mr. Houston,” as he reflexively calls him, during the principal’s final year.
“He was very pro-East and if you had his trust, he had your back, he was going to go fight for you,” Meier said.
There was also no open enrollment and students went to school where they lived. Houston was a staunch supporter of athletics, seeing it as a means to elevate East at a time when it was sometime referred to as “the school on the other side of the tracks.”
“East had what I would call a little bit of a bad rap because of all the repairs that had to be done,” according to Hanner.
When East won the 3A state championship in football in 1979-80, it went a long ways towards solidifying East’s sense of self.
“I think it really gave East its own sense of identity,” Hanner said.
Students remember Houston as having a mix of sternness with the ability to intimidate, but also a light and compassionate side that he would deploy to great effect when needed.
Wells thinks back to 1986 when students gathered around a television during school on Jan. 28, 1986. The space shuttle Challenger was set to make history before tragedy struck. Seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the first teacher in space, perished just over a minute into the flight when the shuttle exploded.
That day, Houston was able to find the words to help those who watched process what had just happened, as the tragedy was viewed by the nation on live television.
“He helped our school and our students understand, grieve, and even try to find a glimmer of hope in that awful moment,” Wells said. “I can’t think of a person that would have been better suited to manage that.”
Houston also had a dry-wit and would needle students from time to time if need be. If there was litter in the parking lot or students were struggling with tardiness, he would do his go-to move, turning off the Coke machines, which sent a message to students immediately.
“Some of my buddies were reminiscing about that last night and one of my friends goes, ‘I’m getting ready to go to my work room and unplug my Coke machine in honor of Mr. Houston,’ ” Meier said.
Houston was “always present,” a constant fixture not only at sporting events and in the hallways, but also in student’s lives.
Jody Littrell, Class of 1986, remembers Houston as an administrator students could talk to and as one who was exceedingly supportive.
“”You think of (the principal) as a guy in the big office in the corner, but he was very approachable.”
Littrell was a star basketball player during his time at East and set the all-time scoring record before it was broken by Lance Barker in the 1990s. Littrell went on to play at Butler, a decision he made with the help of Houston’s counsel.
“He encouraged me to, you know, stay close to home and then also talked about the academics at Butler and why that would be a good fit,” Littrell said. “Obviously academics came first and it’s a good academic school. But then also, are you going to play there?”
Houston constantly advocated for his students as well, sometimes behind the scenes. Littrell recently found a letter his former principal wrote and signed, dated March 20, 1986.
“It’s a letter he wrote to the Indianapolis Star, you know, four paragraph letter, supporting me as an Indiana All Star, making the Indiana All Star team, he was trying to support me to do that, and I never knew he wrote that,” Littrell said. “Thinking back about that as a principal, you’ve got 1,400 kids or something there in your school, and to take the time to do something like that— and that’s why I kept the letter.”
When it was announced that Houston was retiring in 1998, Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury was on the committee to help with the search. They would ask themselves what they would look for in a replacement and how would they fill Houston’s shoes.
The only possible solution they came to — “Get us another Phil Houston.”
