Robert E. Lee High School, named after general Robert E. Lee, is a high school in San Antonio, Texas. A part of the North East Independent School District, it serves portions of San Antonio, all of the city of City of Castle Hills, and a portion of Balcones Heights. Effective fall 2018 the school will be renamed Legacy of Educational Excellence (L.E.E.) High School.
Established in 1958, Lee is host to three magnet schools:
- North East School of the Arts (NESA)
- International School of the Americas (ISA)
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy
History
The school opened in 1958.
Robert E. Lee and Confederate naming
In 1991 the school retired the usage of uniforms for athletes and band members which had Confederate battle flags. The band used to perform a rendition of the song "Dixie" during athletic competitions but NEISD removed this as well; these moves were done to lessen the stigma against the school. For a period the school continued allowing students to display the Confederate battle flag on their clothing and personal items.
The NEISD school board has twice voted on whether to rename the school to address concerns about the safety and focus of students in the context of national debate around memorializing the Confederacy. The board considered whether to rename the school in 2015, after the Charleston church shooting occurred. Lee student Kayla Wilson created an online petition asking for a rename, and students asked the board of NEISD to consider renaming Lee. Mayor of San Antonio Julián Castro also supported renaming. The vote failed on a 5-2 basis.
In August 2017, after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a 19-year-old San Antonio resident, Gianno Gomez, created an online petition to have the school renamed. Another individual created a petition asking for the name to be kept. That month the board voted in favor of retiring the Robert E. Lee name; it did not immediately determine what the new name of the school would be.
The board wished to name the school after an idea instead of a person and asked for suggestions. It received 2,400 proposals, and the district rejected 1,900 of them due to not matching the district's parameters and/or due to obscenities. The San Antonio Express-News characterized several of the proposals as having "offensive and inappropriate references." In October 2017 the NEISD board of Education voted to change the name of the school to Legacy of Educational Excellence (L.E.E.) High School on a 5 to 2 vote. The rename is to be effective in fall 2018. The "volunteer" remained as the school's mascot.
Magnet Programs
- The STEM Academy provides a rigorous education focused on one of the four STEM pathways: Science, Technology (Computer Science), Engineering, and Mathematics.
- The International School of the Americas is a school that although is not officially attached to the Lee Population, resides on the campus. The ISA academy provides a largely global and social studies oriented education.
- NESA (North East School of the Arts) is a fine arts school that offers seven majors; Musical Theatre, Dance, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Cinema, Creative Writing, and Technical Theatre. Each school year season NESA produces a couple of Broadway-caliber shows through the collective teamwork of the majors, as well as many major specific performances.
Notable alumni
- Dan Allen, NYC-based producer and storyteller
- Ricardo Antonio Chavira, actor
- Bruce Collie, retired 8-season NFL football player (OL), won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Became a born-again Christian while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and has been involved in ministry for almost 20 years.
- Tommy Kramer, retired football player, played 13 seasons in the NFL
- Travis Lewis, former football player for the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings
- Chris Marrou, former news anchor for KENS 5-TV in San Antonio, TX from 1973-2009
- Richard Osborne, retired NFL football player
- Grace Phipps, actress, Fright Night, Nine Lives of Chloe King, The Vampire Diaries, and Teen Beach Movie
- George Postolos, former president of Houston Astros and Houston Rockets
- Pat Rockett, retired MLB baseball player
- Pendleton Ward, creator of cartoon series Adventure Time
- Bruce Weinstein, columnist for BusinessWeek.com, CNN analyst and contributor on FOX News, NPR, Good Morning America, and The Today Show
References
External links
- Official website
- North East School of the Arts
- International School of the Americas
- STEM Academy
