Atherton is an elementary school located in the Greater Fifth Ward. It is a neighborhood zoned, elementary school, a magnet school for the fine arts, and part of Houston ISD. Atherton students receive instruction in music, the visual arts, dance, drama and creative writing through the Arts Access Initiative. The school opened in 1927 and was named in 1929 for Charles H. Atherton, who came to Houston from his native Jamaica in 1880 and began a distinguished career in education, serving as principal of several schools and as professor, dean, and chaplain at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M University).