Participants, in addition to school children and community, included Mayor Ben West, Rev. R. L. Thomas, Miss Iva Simms, Principal, Dick Battle, E. B. Garrett, J. E. Moss, Owen Luallen, and Pamela Arnold.
The school, located at 4700 West Longdale Drive, opened in September, 1960, with nine classrooms serving approximately 300 children in grades 1-6. During construction the school was called Caldwell Hall and was built to serve part of the Crieve Hall, Elysian Meadows, Caldwell Hall and Elysian Park subdivisions.
The Davidson County Board of Education officially named the school in honor of Norman Binkley, a former state senator, who lived in the Woodbine area. Ten rooms were added in 1961 and six rooms in 1963 to accommodate a fast-growing community. School enrollment peaked near the 1,000 mark during the school year 1965-66.
