In the Beginning 

Bray Elementary is dedicated to Floy Bray, who was a first grade elementary teacher in Cedar Hill for over fifty years.  Cedar Hill School, as it was known then, was built around 1901, and was a large brick two story building with massive white columns in front.  It was the only school in Cedar Hill until the 1950's.  A large bell would ring every morning at 8:00 AM to alert students that they had 30 minutes to get to school on time.  The bell now sits in front of Fire Station # 1 on Beltline Road.  The gym was constructed in 1936, and when the brick two-story school was demolished in the early 1950's, the current first grade wing was built.  The school then added additional wings throughout the years.

All About Bray 

Bray enjoys a long and rich history - with many of the life-long residents having attended school on the Bray campus.  Bray serves about 300 Pre-k - 5th grade students in self-contained classrooms.  The faculty and staff consists of 25 professionals and 7 full time para professionals.

Located near the old downtown area of Cedar Hill, Bray's attendance zone stretches from State Highway 1382 on the north to Beltline Rd. on the south.  It covers from US Highway 67 on the east to Lake Joe Pool on the west.  Geographically, Bray's attendance area is one of the largest of any of the elementary schools, yet it serves the fewest students.  Due to aging neighborhoods and vast areas of undeveloped land, Bray's enrollment has remained around 300 for several years.  The majority of students are from middle income families, with approximately 48% participation in the free and reduced lunch program.  Bray's teachers have an average of 10 years teaching experience, with an average of only 5 years in the district.

Academically We Excel 

Academically, Bray has a long history of excelling.  For the years 1997-1999; 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Bray earned the rating of "Exemplary", which is given when 90% or higher of a school's third and fourth graders pass all portions of the TAKS test.  Unfortunately for the 2012/2013 school year Bray was rated as Improvement Required on the new, more rigorous STAAR test.  We are happy to say though that through hard work and specific interventions not only did we meet standards on the 2013/2014 STAAR test, we received two academic distinctions - math and top 25% in student progress. In 2012, Bray was also nominated and received the National Blue Ribbon Award with the recognition of a high performing school.  Bray was recognized as the thirteenth highest scoring school in the state of Texas that year.