The education of Flat Wood's younger citizens began in the summers of 1876 and 1877. John Copeland first taught the children during the summers in his log cabin home. After two summers, the settlers came together and built a log school. Jim Smith, SarahHarrison, George Clark, and George Gressom were some of the earliest teachers of the newly built tuition-based school. A Stephenville Empire Tribune article from February 7, 1908, reported that the log school was furnished with benches made of split logs which were supported with pegs for legs. A three-room box house replaced the log school after more than fifteen years of use. As time went on, Flat Wood grew, and the old box house became overcrowded – Marshall Welch built a two-story, six-room structure to replace the box house. Folding partitions allowed the three top rooms to be opened into one large auditorium. Modern equipment was also installed. The estimated cost of the school was about $3,500. In 1926 the frame building burned, and the community replaced it with a $26,000 brick building. There was a building for the primary grades, a workshop, and a new home economics building. The new brick school expanded its library in 1934 when Thurber High School dissolved. According to Geraldine Griswold, in 1937, 250 students attended Huckabay, who were taught by nine teachers. The school also had four bus routes. In 1942 this brick building burned. The current school building is a Works Progress Administration-constructed concrete building off of Texas State Highway 108. The original two-story building features a plaque dated 1938–1940. Originally, a barracks building housed the cafeteria and home economics - a purpose built structure was built in 1954. During this time period, enrollment plummeted. The school appeared headed for consolidation until the school added 21 students from the Soul Clinic commune in December 1953. In 1965, a building for the elementary school side was completed, costing $34,990. That building currently consists of a computer lab, the library, a workroom, and the school counselor's office. In 1983 an additional building was added for administration and agriculture. Four classrooms were built in 1993–1994. Recent superintendents have been: Cheryl Floyd - 2002-Present; Charles Luke - 2000–2002; Arley Echols - 1990–2000.
Students in Huckabay greatly outperform local region and statewide averages on standardized tests. In 2018-2019 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results, 93% of students in Huckabay ISD met Approaches Grade Level standards, compared with 79% in Region 11 and 78% in the state of Texas. The average SAT score of the students tested in 2017-18 was 1067, and the average ACT score was 21.5.
Demographics
In the 2018-2019 school year, the school district had a total of 236 students, ranging from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The class of 2018 included 13 graduates; the annual drop-out rate across grades 9-12 was reported as 0.0%. As of the 2018-2019 school year, the ethnic distribution of the school district was 78.4% White, 17.4% Hispanic, 1.3% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, and 2.5% from two or more races; no Pacific Islander or African American students were reported. Economically disadvantaged students made up 31.8% of the student body.
