Tyler High School received a complete renovation, including the theater. Everything is being touched from top to bottom and will be fully completed in August.

Tyler High registrar Sharla Cravens, a 1989 John Tyler High alumni, describes her family as all about their alma mater, and they’re all proud to be a part of the Lion pride.

She, her siblings, husband and son all graduated from the high school, and her school spirit continues as an employee.

“We’re just John Tyler all the way,” Cravens said. “We bleed blue. A lot of the staff, they do come back to John Tyler (High).”

Now, as the high school continues to undergo renovations, Cravens and others are looking forward to picking up the old bricks from the 1976 varsity gym as keepsakes.

After voters approved a 2017 bond, Tyler High received several upgrades, including a new academic wing, fine arts auditorium, kitchen and cafeteria and a renovation of the existing building.

Tyler High Principal Claude Lane said Friday several alumni have stopped by the stack of bricks in front of Lion Lane. He picked one of the bricks out for himself as well.

“It is definitely a symbol of what the former John Tyler was. A lot of students have walked through these halls and it means a lot to them and to me for them to cherish what we have but also look forward to the new Tyler High School that we’re building currently,” Lane said. “And that we’re investing in the future of our kids. So it’s a keepsake from the past, but also a remembrance of the foundation we’ve been built on and for the future.”

Lane has spent 30 years at Tyler ISD in various roles on four campuses. He became principal at John Tyler High last July, which was later renamed to Tyler High.

He served as principal at Moore MST Magnet School for 24 years, and he was also an assistant principal at Boulter Middle School.

Lane said his co-workers, who are John Tyler alumni, are taking the bricks for memories, decorations or art projects.

“We just want people to be proud — like we are of our history,” he said. “It’s a history of John Tyler, it’s a history of Tyler ISD. It’s a history of this community, but also realize that it is very much a symbol that we’re building a future on.”

Cravens was involved in band and journalism, including being the editor of the student newspaper. She also won homecoming queen and prom queen, and her husband was the football team captain.

She received a journalism scholarship as a John Tyler High student, which helped her attend Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler.

John Tyler High class of 1989 graduate Phebe Mims, who is a staff accountant at her alma mater, said the bricks symbolize memories she can share with her daughter who will graduate from Tyler High next year.

Mims’ favorite high school memories include being in the Big Blue Band and gathering in the gym for pep rallies.

“The band — we were always front and center,” Mims said.

Mims said her brother, mother and father also graduated from the high school.

Norma McClung, Tyler High art teacher and 1985 John Tyler graduate, said she also loved coming to the pep rallies ever since she was in middle school.

“You were always excited for game days, and just going to go and represent was fun,” McClung said.

She plans to use the bricks she picks up to teach her art students.

“I would see me using them for perspective drawings,” McClung said. “It would be a great tool in the classroom.”

Tyler High has seen a multitude of renovations and additions, ranging from science labs, fine arts facilities, band hall, library, choir area, athletic facilities and theater, Lane said.

“There is not one inch of this campus that hasn’t been touched with this new bond issue and we’d like to thank the community for their support,” he said. “It is a full renovation from top to finish — every square inch of the building.”