Our School

About the School Name

Risley Junior High opened in 1949, named after James H. Risley, who served as a Superintendent of Pueblo School District 1 for 25 years – 1921 to 1946 – and became the first Superintendent of District 60 when it was formed through consolidation of Districts 1 and 20.

At a salary of $6,000, Mr. Risley came to Pueblo from Kentucky, where history notes that “no other educator has made a greater impression upon the state than he has.”

When he arrived here, Pueblo was a city that had been devastated by a historic flood. The rushing waters had extensively damaged several schools.

The flood not withstanding, Mr. Risley's tenure was marked by rapid population growth, which necessitated the building of new schools to accommodate the population spike.

In 1922, voters approved a bond which gave the District the funds to build new schools.In 1926, the first junior high school was built on the South Side and another was built on the East Side: this later became Risley International Academy of Innovation.

Although Mr. Risley retired in 1946, the year District 60 was formed, he was designated as Superintendent Emeritus and continued to do work for the District.

In 1953, Mr. Risley’s book, “How It Grew: A History of the Pueblo Public Schools,” was published by the University of Denver Press.