Ethel Gates Primus was an elementary school principal, youth group organizer and was very active in municipal government in the City of Hialeah. A resident of the area of Hialeah called Seminola, she retired from the Dade County Public School system in 1969 after completing 35 years of service.

The first settlers in Seminola, may have been descendants of blacks and Seminole Indians. An Indian reservation is believed to have once occupied the present site in Hialeah. In more recent years a thriving black neighborhood developed there, and many of the early residents were workers at the Hialeah Race Track.

During Primus’s first 14 years as an educator, she taught at Hialeah, Liberty City and Holmes Elementary School. She returned to Hialeah Elementary in 1943 and along with school patrons, supported changing the school’s name to James Weldon Johnson Elementary School. The name change honoring the nationally known poet and hymn lyricist occurred in 1948.

Primus was a principal- teacher at Hialeah Elementary during the many years when the school consisted entirely of portables. When a school building was eventually constructed, she became a full principal. Later, in 1966, she was promoted to special assignment principal, an administrative position that had her work with conferences in a number of schools. During her years as a principal and teacher, she organized Junior Americans Citizens (JAC) clubs under a project sponsored by the John Macdonald Chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR).

The club helped build practical good citizenship in youths. Her work with JAC clubs won her the Valley Forge Teachers Medal, the highest award to teachers from the Freedoms Foundation. In addition to her work as an educator and youth group organizer, she often was appointed to serve on numerous municipal committees by City of Hialeah officials. Ethel Primus Park in Seminola is named in her honor.