Chronicle, during her tenure Poe "earned its reputation for high TAAS scores and academic standards." She served in that capacity until 2001, when Debbie Verdon became principal on July 23. Verdon previously worked in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District as a principal. When the 2005-2006 school year concluded, Will Rogers Elementary School closed. Poe Elementary School gained the portion of the Will Rogers zoning boundary that was east of Weslayan. Jeff Amerson became principal in 2011; he formerly taught at Pershing Middle School and The Rice School, and prior to becoming Poe's principal he was the principal of Garden Oaks Elementary School. Poe became an International Baccalaureate Primary Years school on February 22, 2016. Campus Poe Elementary, which has a light pink, velour brick exterior, copper sheet metal in a natural tone, and a multicolored natural slate roof, uses an American Colonial and Georgian theme. It was the prototype of Architect Harry D. Payne's school design for HISD. Poe's sister schools are River Oaks, Briscoe, Field, Henderson, and Wharton elementaries, which all share the same floor plan. Payne gave each of those schools its own unique exterior. The school library, previously consisting solely of the area of three classrooms, received an over $80,000 renovation and expansion in 2002. Parents and other area residents contributed $50,000 while the parent-teacher organization (PTO) held fundraisers and other events to generate $40,000. the school library had six IBM compatible computers and four iMacs. Poe Elementary has a fireplace and chimney given to the school by Ima Hogg. As of 2010 the fireplace is located in the art classroom. The building is a contributing property of the Boulevard Oaks Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Curriculum The school has dance, music, Suzuki violin, and visual art classes as part of its magnet program. Transportation about 200 Poe students lived north of U.S. Highway 59 and used a bridge on Woodhead Drive to travel to the school, south of the freeway; at least twenty students regularly traveled as pedestrians while about 66% of those north of U.S. 59 were driven in private cars. School bus service was not available since the students lived too close to the school. School culture Every year Poe Elementary holds a carnival patronized by members of the Boulevard Oaks community, parents, and future parents. The carnival raises funds to cover budget gaps not supported by HISD or by