Sandra Calloway – A Texarkana Educator Remembered

We absolutely love educators. They shape us as children and help mold us into the people we eventually become. One woman took this task seriously for 20 years, leading Texarkana’s youths by example.

Sandra N. Calloway helped and served others in many different capacities throughout her lifetime. According to her daughter, Tracie Calloway, Sandra dedicated her life to the children she taught at Kilpatrick Elementary School, at church, and in the community.

She started a Girl Scouts Troop and the Twin City Steppers Drill Team in order to encourage young girls and provide them with extracurricular activities. Sandra wanted her ‘young ladies’ to become cultured, and experience life beyond Texarkana.

At the Canaan Baptist Church, Sandra taught Youth Sunday School and was over the youth choir.

According to her family, Sandra wanted Black History month to be celebrated in Texarkana, so she began the Black History Association with some friends. “Through this association, yearly parades, youth rallies and banquets were held to bring recognition to our community on the history of African Americans,” says Tracie.

Sadly, Sandra died on Sept. 4, 1997 after a battle with breast cancer. She was 41 years old. Since her death, different groups and organizations in Texarkana have remembered her on numerous occasions.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, Sandra’s family will celebrate her life in a special ceremony as they unveil a memorial sign in her honor. If you’d like to attend this event, it will be held in front of the Arkansas School District building at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and 35th Street at 11 a.m.

For more information about this event, please email Tracie Calloway at tracie_sga@yahoo.com.