The sign in front of the Whitney E Houston Academy in East Orange, New Jersey, is covered with so many flowers, at times you can barely make out the name. This performing arts school isn't just named after the singer, it's the very same elementary school she attended decades ago.
Whitney first enrolled in the school when she was six-years-old after her family moved from Newark to East Orange. At that time, it was Franklin Elementary. Henry Hamilton has been the principal at the school for 41 years, and says he remembers Whitney well.
"I remember her when she was 15 years old. She was a fine young lady," Hamilton told The Washington Post. "She had the potential to be great and she became great. She had a good family that supported her well."
In 1997, during a time Hamilton says the East Orange School district was looking to add the names of famous African-Americans to their schools, Franklin Elementary was re-named the Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, and its motto was coined "A Unique School for Unique Students through Teamwork."
Over the years, Houston remained a fixture at her hometown school. Until recently, Hamilton says, she would return at least once a year, sometimes holding talks or just being around the children. Once, in 1990, she arranged a trip for some of the students to the Bronx Zoo.
Now, students that barely knew her, or hold distant memories of one of her surprise visits, lay flowers and tributes in front of their school. The flag flies at half-mast, and a purple cloth drapes the large stone entryway into the main building. In Henry Hamilton's office, framed albums of Whitney depict happier times.
"She's an inspiration," he says. "She was making a difference."
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