I was at Peirce from 1953 to 1962. It was a time of great change. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs Warneke, taught there from when the school first opened. She retired sometime in the early '60s. Up to 7th grade, we still put on a Christmas Pageant every year showing the story of the birth of Jesus in tableau form with the choir singing Christmas hymns. (and the school was at least half Jewish!) By 8th grade, that was no longer permitted. We also had a live Christmas tree until 1959, when a fire at a Catholic school killed 93 children.
One rumor that lasted throughout my years there was that there was a swimming pool hidden behind a door that was about 4 ft above the 1st floor hall. Never did find out what that door was for.
Two of the big advances while I was there were the replacement of the old incandescent lights with "modern" fluorescent lighting, and the installation of new electric clocks in each classroom, replacing the old wind-up brass pendulum clocks.
Pierce was one of the showplaces of the Chicago Public Schools, and we regularly hosted to bras from downtown.
Had a great time there, and I hope the children that are there now enjoy it half as much