Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy

Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy at A. Maceo Smith (BOMLA) is a magnet secondary school for boys located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. It is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.[1] After the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, it is DISD's second single gender school.[2]

Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy
The former A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School, now housing BOMLA
Address
3030 Stag Road

Dallas
,
Dallas County
,
Texas
75241

United States
Coordinates32°41′31″N 96°45′54″W
Information
School typeMagnet
MottoBelieve. Achieve. Succeed.
Established2011
Sister schoolIrma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership Academy
School districtDallas Independent School District
Grades6-12
GenderMale
SportsLacrosse
MascotEagles
NicknameBOMLA

The school, which occupies the campus of the former A. Maceo Smith High School, is named after former President of the United States Barack Obama, in honor of the fact that he was the first black President. The campus was named for Antonio Maceo Smith (1903–1977), a pioneer civil rights leader in Dallas.

History

The former B. F. Darrell Vanguard Elementary School campus was renovated until Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy at B.F. Darrell opened.[3] Obama opened in August 2011 with grades 6 through 9. Each subsequent year a grade level will be added until the school gets grade 12.[1] The school had 205 students during its first year of operation.[3] The school was dedicated on November 11, 2011.

In 2018 Obama swapped buildings with New Tech High School, with the latter now occupying B. F. Darrell while Obama now occupied the A. Maceo Smith campus, where Obama has the potential to increase its enrollment.[4]

Admissions

A prospective student needs to meet entrance requirements before being considered for admission. He must have sufficient grade point averages in the core classes and score within the fortieth percentile in his examinations, such as the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) or the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). If a prospective student meets the requirements, he will take an examination measuring his writing and mathematics skills.[1]

Academics

Obama offers classes in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Latin, and robotics.[5] 8th grade students have "accelerated curriculum" schedules.[3] All students have access to pre-Advanced Placement classes. Students are expected to maintain an average of 85 and above. All students are required to attend Saturday Academy once a month for enrichment and academic support.

School norms

Students are required to address teachers using the standard "Mister" "Miss" or "Mrs." honorifics. Students are required to use the honorific "Brother." For instance John Smith would be "Brother John Smith" and Fred Jones would be "Brother Fred Jones." Faculty members also use the "brother" honorific to address students.[6]

Students are divided into four different groups called "Houses." The Houses represent the four different symbols from the school crest. The House of Alliance is represented by hands shaking, the House of Decree is represented by an open book, the House of Expedition is represented by the winged-foot and the House of Justice is represented by scales. Students are assigned their House when they arrive at the campus and remain in their House until graduation. Each House also has teacher and staff advisors.

Uniform

Students are required to wear school uniforms. The uniform includes a blue oxford shirt, a tie, slacks,[7] a black belt, student identification badge, and a jacket.[3] All students are required to wear navy blazers while students are in hallways or common areas, but students may remove the blazers while in class. Middle school students wear gray ties, while high school students wear navy ties.[8]

Athletics

Lacrosse is currently available for 6th-8th grade students through a partnership with Bridge Lacrosse. Additionally, sixth-grade students can participate on the basketball team. Students are also allowed to participate in sports at their home school location if the sport is not available at Barack Obama.

References
  1. Williams, Shawn P. "DISD’s Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy says "Yes We Can" Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine." Dallas South News. March 15, 2011. Retrieved on September 2, 2011.
  2. Williams, Shawn P. "Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy: DISD All-Male School Opens With High Expectations Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine.' Dallas South News. August 24, 2011. Retrieved on September 2, 2011.
  3. "First all-male public school in Texas opens with more than 200 students." Dallas Independent School District. Retrieved on September 6, 2011.
  4. Fernandez, Demond (2018-06-06). "Three Dallas ISD campuses prepare for moves to new buildings". WFAA. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  5. Heinz, Frank. "New School Year Brings A Lot of Changes." NBC DFW. Monday August 22, 2011. Retrieved on September 6, 2011.
  6. "Parent/Student Handbook 2011-2012." (Archived 2012-09-04 at WebCite) Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. p. 18. Retrieved on November, 2012. "Salutations Students will address each adult as either Mr. or Mrs. Students will address each other as ―i.e. Brother John Davis. ‖ Additionally, students will be addressed as ―i.e. Mr. or Brother John Davis by faculty and staff members."
  7. Boardman, Amanda (2011-09-05). "DISD opens all-boy magnet school with math and science focus". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  8. "Parent/Student Handbook 2011-2012." (Archived 2012-09-04 at WebCite) Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. p. 13. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.

Further reading
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