7159 Hickory Street

Frisco ISD’s first designated elementary school was built in 1963 on an 11-acre plot of land donated by Mattie Acker Smith and served as the only school for lower grades until 1987. Zachary Taylor Acker brought his family to Texas in 1880 traveling from Alabama in a covered wagon. In the absence of a local public school, Z.T. taught his children at home as he had been a schoolteacher in Alabama and was a great believer in education. As the years passed and public schools became available, the Acker children attended, in what was their father’s opinion, the best school for that particular year. Mr. Acker insisted that all his children have at least one year of higher education after high school. Mattie Acker Smith was known for her culinary talents and won a barrel of flour as her first prize award at a Collin County Fair and won several ribbons from the State Fair of Texas. Because of the belief in education shared by the Acker family, the donation of land and resulting elementary school named in honor of Z.T. Acker is a fitting tribute. The first principal of Acker Elementary was Bert Isbell where he served from 1963 to 1982. Isbell Elementary is named for Mr. Isbell and his wife Eloise.