Bob Lanier Middle School, formerly Sidney Lanier Junior High School/Middle School, is a middle school (lower secondary school) in Houston, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77098. Lanier, a school of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), handles grades 6 through 8. Named after former mayor of Houston Bob Lanier, the school is located in Neartown and near Montrose and has both neighborhood non-magnet and Vanguard/IBMYP (of the International Baccalaureate) gifted/talented programs. Lanier's neighborhood program serves Montrose, Afton Oaks, Boulevard Oaks, River Oaks, Southampton, 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 who fought for the Confederate States of America, the name was changed before opening to Sidney Lanier, 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 decided to keep the previous street name. The students apologized to E. S. Woodhead, John Woodhead's brother and a Houstonian.Hinton, Marks. "Historic Houston Streets: The Stories Behind the Name" (Archive). The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park. July 19, 2007. Retrieved on April 18, 2009. Lanier was previously reserved for white children but it desegregated by 1970.
In 1973, Lanier's Vanguard program was instated. Lanier received a re-dedication after renovations in 1982."A Hypertext History of Lanier." Lanier Middle School. August 18, 2004. Retrieved on April 18, 2009.
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. 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 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 figures, even though Lanier's students approved of keeping the school's name.Smith, Michelle Leigh. "HISD Trustees Ignore Community, Vote to Change Lanier & Johnston's Names" (Archive). Southwest News. February 16, 2016. Volume 30, No. 38. p. 1, 15. Retrieved on February 20, 2016. Former teacher Jim Henley stated that Lanier was known as a creative artist and that he was not known as a Confederate soldier.Lomax, John Nova. "Should Houston’s Lanier Middle School Lose Its Name Because Of Confederate Ties?" Texas Monthly. January 14, 2016. Retrieved on February 21, 2016. Mike Tolson of the Houston Chronicle wrote that since Lanier had only a small number of works, he "is not studied much these days[...]and 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." Houston Chronicle. February 12, 2016. Retrieved on February 21, 2016. Tolson argued that "For the majority-minority board, [Lanier] was 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 Bob Lanier, former mayor of Houston.Clemons, Tracy. "HISD approves name changes for seven schools" (Archive). KTRK-TV. 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.Downing, Margaret. "Angry Parents Say HISD Deceiving Taxpayers Over Cost of Lanier Name Change [UPDATED]." Houston Press. Retrieved on May 25, 2015.
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.Downing, Margaret. "Lanier Parents Want Jolanda Jones to Apologize to Middle School Students." Houston Press. Tuesday April 26, 2016. Retrieved on May 25, 2016.
In May 2016 a group of residents threatened to sue HISD if it followed through with renaming Lanier.Downing, Margaret. "Tonight's Vote to Rename Schools Prompts a Letter Threatening Legal Action Against HISD." Houston Press. Thursday, May 12, 2016. Retrieved on August 2, 2016. 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.Flynn, Meagan. "Parents, Alumni Sue HISD Over Renaming Schools Honoring Confederacy." Houston Press. Thursday, June 23, 2016. Retrieved on August 2, 2016.
Columnist John Nova Lomax argued against the renaming in Texas Monthly 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 ." Houston Independent School District including Afton Oaks,Block book maps: * Section 1: Blocks 1-16: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v077/AE1997_77-2_0052.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v077/AE1997_77-2_0052.pdf - Newcastle Courts and resubdivision Afton Oaks 3 indicated Section 2, Blocks 8-10 and 17: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v077/AE1997_77-2_0053.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v077/AE1997_77-2_0053.pdf Section 3, Blocks 12-15 and 17: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v077/AE1997_77-2_0054.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v077/AE1997_77-2_0054.pdf Section 4, Block 18, Lots 1-16: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v077/AE1997_77-2_0055.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v077/AE1997_77-2_0055.pdf Section 5: Blocks 1-4: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v077/AE1997_77-2_0056.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v077/AE1997_77-2_0056.pdf Section 6, Blocks 16-20: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v080/AE1997_80_0062.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v080/AE1997_80_0062.pdf Section 7, Blocks 1-2: http://books.tax.hctx.net/v081/AE1997_81_0072.jpg and http://books.tax.hctx.net/BlockBooksPDF/v081/AE1997_81_0072.pdf River Oaks,"Map ." River Oaks Property Owners Association. Retrieved on December 4, 2008. Boulevard Oaks,"Information: Schools ." Boulevard Oaks. Retrieved on December 4, 2008. Avalon Place, Southampton Place (including Broadacres,"Broadacres" (JPG, Archive, PDF, Archive - Harris County Block Book. Retrieved on November 20, 2012.), Shadyside,Harris County block book map: Shadyside: JPG format, PDF format Retrieved on March 23, 2019. Please compare these to the school boundary maps. portions of the Neartown 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,Cherryhurst Original subdivision map. Harris County Appraisal District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017.Cherryhurst Addition subdivision map. Harris County Appraisal District. Retrieved on March 11, 2017. 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, and most of Upper Kirby (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, 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, The Driscoll at River Oaks, - Compare map to school boundary maps. The Huntingdon, - The address of The Huntington, to compare with school boundary maps. and Residences at La Colombe d'Or.
For non-zoned students to attend Lanier, parents must submit Vanguard magnet application forms."Magnet English Home ." Houston Independent School District. 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