Leighton Training School

Leighton Training School. Colbert County. , Leighton Training School, an African American school located near the Byler Road, operated as a Type 6 Rosenwald School - a type of school funded by Sears Roebuck President Julius Rosenwald for African American children across the South in the early 1900s. Local residents purchased five acres of land on Washington Avenue from Dick King to build the school. Completed in 1929 and originally called the Colbert County Training School, the one-story, U-shaped red brick school cost approximately $8,000 and had six rooms. Robert S. Childs served as the first principal., Reverse Side , Renovations undertaken in 1937 included the addition of a classroom wing, and in 1952, a vocational building was added. 1957 saw the addition of two more classrooms, a gymnasium, and utility and restroom facilities. Community women cooked for the children until a lunchroom was added in 1961. The 1961 expansion also added six more classrooms and a library. The Leighton Training School Pirates represented the school successfully in athletics. Leighton Training School alumni went on to become prominent business and civic leaders, as well as entertainment and sports legends. The school closed in 1970 when Alabama schools fully integrated. , Listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on June 19, 1987