Bob Lanier Middle School, formerly Sidney Lanier Junior High School/Middle School, is a

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(lower secondary school) in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with a ZIP code of 77098. Lanier, a school of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

(HISD), handles grades 6 through 8. Named after former

mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Qualifications, election, and terms To file to run for mayor, a person must be a qualified voter of the city of Houston, and have h ...

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played center (basketball), center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). L ...

, the school is located in

Neartown Montrose is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Montrose is a area roughly bounded by Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, South Shepher ...

and near Montrose and has both neighborhood non-magnet and Vanguard/ IBMYP (of the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

) gifted/talented programs. Lanier's neighborhood program serves Montrose, Afton Oaks, Boulevard Oaks,

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, and other communities.

History

The school was originally going to be designated Abraham Lincoln School, but after criticism from veterans of the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded fr ...

who fought for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, the name was changed before opening to

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

, a Confederate soldier who later became recognized as the "Poet of the Confederacy". As of 2014, there were at least ten high schools named after Lanier. Lanier opened in 1926 as one of HISD's first junior high schools. In 1926, the Purple Pup was adopted as Lanier's mascot. In 1935, students from Lanier created a petition to rename Woodhead Street, named after John Woodhead, to Higginbotham Street, after the principal, Blanch Higginbotham. According to the article "Historic Houston Streets: The Stories Behind the Name," students at other schools used "Wood head" as a derogatory label for Lanier students, implying that they lacked intelligence. After hearing testimony about Woodhead's character, the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

decided to keep the previous street name. The students apologized to E. S. Woodhead, John Woodhead's brother and a Houstonian. Lanier was previously reserved for white children but it

desegregated Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

by 1970. In 1973, Lanier's Vanguard program was instated. Lanier received a re-dedication after renovations in 1982. In September 1991 Lanier was one of 32 HISD schools that had capped enrollments; in other words, the school was filled and excess students had to attend other schools.Markley, Melanie.
32 schools hit enrollment cap
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. Thursday, September 26, 1991. A17. Retrieved on April 24, 2009. Lanier's first floor flooded in 1998 due to Tropical Storm Frances. In the early 2000s (decade), to reduce echo in the classrooms and to allow easier installation of network hardware, a

false ceiling False or falsehood may refer to: *False (logic), the negation of truth in classical logic *Lie or falsehood, a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement *False statement, aka a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a state ...

was installed in almost all classrooms and hallways. Sometime after 2001, televisions that were in every classroom were removed. Before the 2008/2009 school year, Lanier had a third temporary building that housed bathrooms and water fountains, though only one water fountain out of three was operational as of 2005. At the start of this school year, the building housing the bathrooms was removed, and the other two temporary buildings were moved from the field to other parts of the campus. Lanier was renovated during the 2008/2009 school year, with a new paint job, new interior signage, and new walkways to the new locations of the temporary buildings. Dr. Katie Bradarich became principal in July 2017. She was abruptly reassigned on November 28, 2018, according to a voice message received by the parents of the students.

2016 Renaming

On February 12, 2016, the HISD board voted to require Lanier to change its name again to purge HISD of school names based on

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

figures, even though Lanier's students approved of keeping the school's name. Former teacher Jim Henley stated that Lanier was known as a creative artist and that he was not known as a Confederate soldier. Mike Tolson of the ''

'' wrote that since Lanier had only a small number of works, he "is not studied much these days ..nd students who are not from his native Georgia are unlikely even to know his name."How to change Lanier Middle School's name without changing it
" ''

''. February 12, 2016. Retrieved on February 21, 2016. Tolson argued that "For the majority-minority board, anierwas low-hanging fruit, along with other men who actually served the Confederate cause in a more serious way and are not studied in classes on American poetry." In May 2016 the HISD board voted to rename the school after

, former

.Clemons, Tracy.
HISD approves name changes for seven schools

Archive
. ''

KTRK-TV KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the ABC network via its ABC Owned Television Stations division, and maintains studio facilities on Bissonnet Street in Houston's Upper ...

''. Thursday, May 12, 2016. Retrieved on May 21, 2016. "Lanier Watchdogs", a group of Lanier parents, accused the HISD board of omitting the cost of renaming the school; this group hired Wayne Dolcefino to assist in their investigation. In April 2016 a group of parents asked HISD board member Jolanda Jones to apologize to students who opposed the name change after she accused them of bullying other students in favor of the name change during a board meeting. Dolcefino investigated the issue and found no evidence of bullying. Jones refused to apologize despite the apparent discredit of her claims. In May 2016 a group of residents threatened to sue HISD if it followed through with renaming Lanier. In June 2016 a group of eight Houston area residents, including alumni and parents, had given HISD a second request; when HISD did not accept it, they sued HISD to get an injunction to prevent the name changes. Dolcefino serves as their spokesperson. Columnist John Nova Lomax argued against the renaming in ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' because Bob Lanier had a mixed political legacy.

Admissions and neighborhoods served

Students zoned to Lanier automatically are eligible to attend the school, and are automatically able to attend the Vanguard program if they qualify. Several areas of Houston inside the 610 Loop are zoned to Lanier,Lanier Middle Attendance Zone
." ''

'' including Afton Oaks,

, Boulevard Oaks,Information: Schools
." ''Boulevard Oaks''. Retrieved on December 4, 2008. Avalon Place,

Southampton Place Southampton Place, also known as Southampton, is a neighborhood located in Houston, Texas. The Southampton Civic Club Inc. is the homeowners' association. History E.H. Fleming developed Southampton in the 1920s.Feser, Katherine.Southampton Plac ...

(including Broadacres,), Shadyside, portions of the

area west of Montrose Boulevard (including portions of Montrose west of Montrose Boulevard, Castle Court,Our Boundaries
" Neartown Association. Retrieved on March 23, 2019
PDF version with detail
- Individual subdivisions are noted Cherryhurst and Cherryhurst Addition, Lancaster Place, Mandell Place, Park, Richwood, Vermont Commons, and WAMM, as well as much of Hyde Park, and portions of North Montrose), Weslayan Plaza, Oak Estates, Royden Oaks, Ranch Estates, Highland Village, Lynn Park, West Lane Place,

Rice Village Rice Village is a shopping district in Houston, Texas, United States. Rice Village is a collection of shops, restaurants and pubs, situated about a half-mile west of the center of Rice University's campus. The core "Rice Village" extends over ...

, and most of

Upper Kirby Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after Kirby Drive, so indirectly takes its name from John Henry Kirby. Upper Kirby contains many businesses, including restaurants. Upper Kirby is east of the ...

(areas of the district located west of Edloe and north of Westpark, residential areas located east of Edloe, west of Kirby, north of

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...

, and areas located east of Kirby).Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone - 19
." ''Upper Kirby''. Retrieved on December 10, 2008. Notable apartment and condominium complexes zoned to Lanier include

2727 Kirby 2727 Kirby is a 30-story, 78 unit, condominium high rise, designed by Ziegler Cooper and located in Upper Kirby just south of Westheimer in Houston, Texas. Zoned schools Residents of this building are zoned to schools in the Houston Independent ...

, The Driscoll at River Oaks, The Huntingdon, and Residences at La Colombe d'Or. For non-zoned students to attend Lanier, parents must submit Vanguard magnet application forms. Admissions from this point on are drawn randomly on a lottery-basis. 256 students are drawn each year. Students beyond this are put on a wait-list.

Academics

In the 1995–1996 school year, 82% of black students and 70% of Hispanic students at Lanier passed state tests.O'Reilly, p
41
98% of White students had passed the same tests. Tom Monaghan, the principal, said "If you looked at the big picture, we looked pretty good. But we said, 'That's not good enough. We have to look at the zoned kids.'" The school added an extra teacher for mathematics remediation for 8th graders, established new instructional strategies for language arts, added additional mathematics instruction for 7th graders in need of help in mathematics content, and created after-school reading and writing groups for Latino students. In the 2000–2001 school year, after the measures were taken, 89% of black students and 86% of Hispanic students passed state tests. As of 2011 Lanier had received Texas Gold Performance Awards based on performance in language arts, mathematics, reading, science, social studies, and writing.Deneen and Catanese, p
93
Languages: Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese.

Location and campus

The campus consists of a three-story main building, a separate building (containing a band and a drama room), and 2 temporary buildings (for the health room). Lanier has an indoor pool located in the basement of the main building. Lanier also has an auditorium with a wraparound balcony located in the center of the campus between the South and North Patios, the latter officially named the "Tom Hutch-Hutchings Memorial Gardens" in honor of a longtime Lanier World Cultural Studies teacher. There is also a Chess Patio where one can play chess located next to the cafeteria. Lunch may be eaten on the South (also known as Purple) or Chess Patio, in addition to the cafeteria. In the main building, the first and second floors have 6th and 7th grade classes. The third floor has 8th grade, core classes, and electives. Lanier's campus has been expanded numerous times since it was first built. The most notable expansion was the addition of the area of the building housing the cafeteria and gymnasium. This expansion has resulted in some quirks in the building that are still visible today, most notably a door leading to stairs to the basement that is only half-exposed above the floor of the hallway. These stairs are no longer in service, though the door can be opened even though it's blocked by the hallway floor. Students aren't allowed to open the door and/or go down those stairs. Prior to this expansion, the cafeteria was located where the library is today, on the third floor. A dumbwaiter, located where the elevator is today, carried food to the cafeteria.(: The windows at Lanier were upgraded at some point. Originally, they were 4-panel window panes that could each be opened. They were upgraded to standard slide-open windows. Possibly at this point, for currently unknown reasons, many of the windowsills in the back side of the school were bricked up. "The Pipe of Peace", a mural by the artist Grace Spaulding John, was originally located in the front of the school before being painted over. It was repainted in the summer of 2015, in its original place, in the front of the school. In addition to "The Pipe of Peace" there was a mural of the story of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

on the third floor, and a mural of half black and white painting of the school from 1926 and the a color version of the school in the early 1990s to 2000s. Both of the latter Murals have been painted over. Lanier is located in Winlow Place blocks 2 and 5, in the

community. Lanier is nearby single-family houses and small shops. A convenience store, a hardware store, and a few restaurants are near Lanier Middle School. The

district, which is near Lanier, plans to establish a "

teen center A teen center is a community center serving adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to th ...

" at Richmond at Wake Forest geared toward students at Lanier, St. John's, Lamar, and other Upper Kirby schools and schools near Upper Kirby. Funding issues have delayed establishment of the center.

School uniform

All Lanier students are required to wear

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...

s consisting of monogrammed LMS

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in British Raj, British India in 1859 and ...

s in colors of red, black, or white monday thru thursday, and late in the 2013 school year (around May) purple shirts were brought back. They had not been available for about 10 years. The polo shirts purchased at the school and pairs of

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan (color), tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage rela ...

bottoms (

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

, capris, or

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

s). GSG leaders wear maroon and green shirts. This uniform was instituted at the start of the 1997/1998 school year. The school also provides used uniforms for students who may not be able to afford them. The

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

specifies that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.

Student discipline

The school enacted attendance policies meant to maintain a high level of student attendance, and the school threatens to criminally prosecute parents of students consistently committing truancy. The school had received awards for having high student attendance rates.

Student body

During the 2016/2017 school year, Lanier had 1,469 students. 24% qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Feeder patterns

Zoned schools

Elementary schools that feed into Lanier include * Baker Montessori (formerly Wilson, partial) *

* Poe (partial) * Roberts (partial) * St. George Place (partial) All students who are zoned to Lanier are zoned to Lamar High School.

IB program

The IB programs at Poe, River Oaks, Roberts, and West University elementaries feed into Lanier's IB program. Lanier accordingly feeds its IB students into Lamar High School's IB program.

Notable people

; Staff * Van G. Garrett (poet) ; Alumni *

Muthu Alagappan Muthu Alagappan (born ) is a former medical resident known for his professional basketball analytics. He was born in England and raised in Texas. During college at Stanford University, he began an internship at big data startup company Ayasdi, ...

(Pioneer of basketball analytics) *

Larry Blyden Ivan Lawrence Blieden (June 23, 1925 – June 6, 1975), known professionally as Larry Blyden, was an American actor, stage producer and director, and game show host. He made his Broadway stage debut in 1948 and went on to appear in numerous ...

(Actor) *

Denton Cooley Denton Arthur Cooley (August 22, 1920 – November 18, 2016) was an American cardiothoracic surgeon famous for performing the first implantation of a total artificial heart. Cooley was also the founder and surgeon in-chief of The Texas Hear ...

(Surgeon) *

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

(Journalist) *

George Ducas George Ducas ( – 31 March 1685) was the prince (List of monarchs of Moldavia, voivode) of Moldavia (1665–1666, 1668–1672, 1678–1684) and the List of Wallachian rulers, prince of Wallachia (1674–1678). He also served as the hetman of ...

(Singer) *

Linda Ellerbee Linda Ellerbee (born Linda Jane Smith; August 15, 1944) is an American journalist, anchor, producer, reporter, author, speaker and commentator, noted as longtime Washington correspondent for NBC News and host of '' NBC News Overnight''. She is ...

(Journalist)Distinguished HISD Alumni
," ''

'' * Bianna Golodryga (

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

Correspondent) *

Chachi Gonzales Olivia "Chachi" Hildén (née Gonzales) is an American dancer, choreographer, teacher and actress. She was a member of the dance crew I.aM.mE, which won the sixth season of ''America's Best Dance Crew'' in 2011. Personal life Olivia Gonzales ...

(Hip-Hop Dancer) * Fred Hofheinz (Mayor of Houston) *

Carli Mosier Carliyn Cyd Mosier (born February 28, 1978) is an American voice actress and political activist. She is also a board member for the River Oaks Area Democratic Women (ROADWomen). Mosier has provided voices for a number of English-language version ...

(Anime voice actress) *

Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national championship. ...

(Basketball player) *

Lisa Papademetriou Lisa Papademetriou (born August 25, 1971) is an American author of young adult fiction. Life and career Papademetriou was born August 25, 1971, and grew up in Houston, Texas, attending West University Elementary School, Lanier Middle School, a ...

(Children's Author) * Tommy Sands (Singer) * Mark White (Governor of Texas)

References

* Chapman, Betty and Garvin Berry ''2-Minute Histories of Houston'' (also written as ''Two Minute Histories of Houston''). ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

''. September 1, 1996. , 9780965040020. * Deneen, James and Carmen Catanese. ''Urban Schools: Crisis and Revolution''.

R&L Education The Globe Pequot Publishing Group (formerly Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group) is an American independent book publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers various regional and interest books in the trade b ...

, October 16, 2011. , 9781610480888. * O'Reilly, Tricia M. (

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

) ''What Boston Resident Students Have to Say about Their Experiences in the METCO Program''.

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for l ...

, 2008. , 9780549612919.

Notes

External links

Lanier Middle School

Lanier Middle School PTO

Lanier Middle School Radio

Letter from Goforth Law Firm about the RenamingArchive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanier, Bob Middle School Educational institutions established in 1926 Houston Independent School District middle schools Public middle schools in Houston International Baccalaureate schools in Texas Magnet schools in Houston 1926 establishments in Texas Neartown, Houston