AURORA | As students at the city’s newest school stroll down the hallway from the main office to the gym, they’ll pass a display case packed to the brim with pictures and mementos from two lives well lived.
The display boasts photos of John Mosley’s time in the United States Air Force and items from Edna Mosley’s city council campaigns, and it gives just a glimmer of what the Mosleys meant for Aurora.
Aurora Public Schools Superintendent Rico Munn, who pushed for the school to be named for the iconic Aurora couple, said he hopes students and staff at Edna and John W. Mosley P-8 School can look to their school’s namesakes for inspiration. And maybe, Munn said last week at the school’s grand opening, when students leave Mosley they can pursue the sorts of success and community impact the Mosleys did.
“We can help the kids who go through these doors have that life well lived,” Munn said.
The school opened Sept. 10 for students in grades six to eight, Sept. 14 for first through fifth grade and Sept. 15 for preschool. The last group, the kindergarten students, started class Sept. 17, bringing the total student population to around 800. The school has a capacity for 1,000 students.
Mosley started about a month later than other APS schools. To make up for the missed time in August and early September, 40 minutes have been added to each school day at Mosley.
The new school sits on APS’ Community Campus near East 2nd Avenue and Airport Boulevard. The campus also includes William Smith High School, Pickens Technical College and Aurora Quest K-8 magnet school for gifted and talented students.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan spoke at last week’s grand opening in front of a gymnasium packed with parents, students and staff.
The school opened Sept. 10 for students in grades six to eight, Sept. 14 for first through fifth grade and Sept. 15 for preschool. The last group, the kindergarten students, started class Sept. 17, bringing the total student population to around 800. The school has a capacity for 1,000 students.
Hogan, who served on Aurora City Council with Edna Mosley, said she was gracious and strong willed and didn’t waver when she made up her mind.
“You knew when you got a ‘yes’ or you got a ‘no,’ that was the answer,” Hogan said.
Edna Mosley passed away in August 2014, and John Mosley died last May.
Hogan said that considering the couple’s impact — which includes a college scholarship in their name — there isn’t a better name for the school.
“They chose exactly the right name,” he said.
That’s especially true for a school adjacent to Buckley Air Force Base considering Mosley’s Air Force career and time as a Tuskegee Airman.
About a fourth of the students at Mosley live on Buckley. The base has built a secure gate near the school, and APS built a sidewalk from the school to the gate. That gate is used by more than just Mosley students. Buses drop Buckley students from other schools nearby so they can use it, too.
“We can help the kids who go through these doors have that life well lived,” Munn said.
Many of the parents on hand for the grand opening were in uniform.
Construction on the $30-million school started last year and finished on schedule.
District officials said the project was necessary because enrollment is expected to grow by between 1 percent and 2 percent for the next four years, with the bulk of that being at the elementary and middle schools.
The Mosleys’ son, Eric, said his parents were both life-long learners who made sure education was important to their children.
“This really is the pinnacle of two extraordinary careers and extraordinary lives,” he said.