Margaret Riley School in the Ridgetop area.” Kocurek stated, “By cutting one large school into sections where they were most needed, we were able to give each of the over-crowded areas relief.” Dawson opened in the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision amplified "white flight" into the suburbs and left less wealthy neighborhoods to struggle with unequal funds and de facto segregation. Studies showed that the "percentage of minorities rose in South Central Austin during the 1970s" Dawson, situated in the 1970 census tract 13.02 (later in tract 13.06 when split in 1980), was "the only one in South Austin in which Spanish-origin residents outnumber whites or blacks." Thus, many, if not most, of Dawson students were Mexican American. The area also struggled economically. Census tracts 13.05 and 13.06 "historically has been a low- and moderate-income area with a high need for social services, according to city Human Services Department officials." The demographics contributed to some of the school's challenges and creative educational approaches. Educational approaches Bilingual education In 1972, Dawson Elementary School became the first South Austin school in AISD to start a bilingual education program. Teachers Margarita Ramirez and Nancy Fuller briefly described the challenges of instituting a bilingual program at a school that had many Spanish-speaking parents, who "In their day were punished in school for speaking Spanish." While the school had a large Mexican-American student population, "the parents have avoided speaking their predominant language in their homes in order not to hinder their children's progress at school." According to Ramirez, "The first reaction we got [from the students] was that we would, speak in Spanish and they'd look up and say 'What?'" Initially, parents voiced concern about the program, but "the reversed emphasis, from a remedial program to an enrichment program, has brought delighted responses from parents," even sparking requests for more bilingual education in the higher level grades. In the 1960s and 1970s, Dawson sought to develop an inclusive curriculum for its large population of Mexican American students. In addition to its leadership in bilingual education, the school developed lessons and extracurricular activities that attempted to incorporate the history and culture of its student population. In 1971, the school held its "International Fiesta Friday," which offered a "complete Mexican dinner" for 75 cents and encouraged Fiesta-goers "to