J. Herman Reed
Reed Middle School opened in 1955, in the current Duncanville Education Center building (former DHS Annex). The school moved to its current facility, the former Duncanville High School site, when the high school moved to its new current location in 1965. The school was named for former superintendent J. Herman Reed (1951-1966) and his wife, former teacher Oleta Reed. Additions were made to the current Reed building in 1956-59, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1977, and 2000, with renovations in 2004 and 2005. The school serves grades 6-8.
J. Herman Reed
J. Herman Reed became superintendent of Duncanville ISD in September, 1951 and served in that capacity for 15 years. He was born in Snyder, TX and received both his bachelors and masters degrees from East Texas State Teachers College. Mr. Reed taught and was principal of schools in Camp and Wood counties before serving with the Navy in WWII.
After military service, Mr. Reed served as superintendent of schools in Wood and Collin counties before coming to Duncanville. He was an outstanding educator who worked tirelessly for accreditation for the Duncanville district. He was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Duncanville Chamber of Commerce in 1958 for his work with the schools of the community.
When Mr. Reed became superintendent, Duncanville had one school building (now Central Elementary, built in 1929) and a student enrollment of 475. During his tenure, the district expanded to 3500 students and new campuses were built, including two additional elementary schools (Fairmeadows and Merrifield) and a separate high school which became a junior high school (Reed MS) when the current high school was built in 1965. Mr. Reed left the district in 1966.
Mascot: Panthers (formerly Trojans)
Colors: Red, white, and blue (formerly royal blue and white)
