Legacy of Educational Excellence High School

Legacy of Educational Excellence (L.E.E.) High School, formerly Robert E. Lee High School, is a high school in San Antonio, Texas. A part of the North East Independent School District (NEISD), it serves portions of San Antonio,[2] all of the city of City of Castle Hills,[3] and a portion of Balcones Heights.[4]

Legacy of Educational Excellence High School
Address
1400 Jackson-Keller Road

San Antonio
,
Texas
78213

United States
Coordinates29°30′25″N 98°30′57″W
Information
School typePublic, High School
Founded1958
School districtNorth East ISD
Staff186.01 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,601 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio13.98[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)Red and Gray    
Athletics conferenceUIL Class 6A
NicknameVolunteers (or Vols)
Feeder schoolsNimitz Middle School
Jackson Middle School
Websitewww.neisd.net/lee/

Established in 1958, and formerly named after general Robert E. Lee, Lee is host to three magnet schools:

L.E.E. has its own general population that aren't in one of the 3 magnet programs.

History

The school opened in 1958.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] For a period the school continued allowing students to display the Confederate battle flag on their clothing and personal items.[6]

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.[8] Lee student Kayla Wilson created an online petition asking for a rename, and students asked the board of trustees of NEISD to consider renaming Lee.[6] Mayor of San Antonio Julián Castro also supported renaming.[9] The vote failed on a 5-2 basis.[6]

In August 2017, after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a San Antonio resident created an online petition to have the school renamed. Another individual created a petition asking for the name to be kept.[6] 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.[10][11]

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.[7] The San Antonio Express-News characterized several of the proposals as having "offensive and inappropriate references."[12] In October 2017 the NEISD board agreed to change the name of the school to Legacy of Educational Excellence (L.E.E.) High School on a 5 to 2 vote.[7] The rename took place in fall 2018.[13][14] Initially the "volunteer" remained as the school's mascot,[7] but in April 2018 the district announced that the new mascot was a military service dog wearing a military service vest after students voted in favor of that mascot.[15]

In addition to the new mascot and name, the statue of Robert E. Lee, along with most other named signs were taken down.

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. ISA provides a largely global and social-science oriented education. Typically, ISA students will take an out-of-state trip according to their year to apply their knowledge.
  • 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

References
  1. "LEGACY OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  2. "Lee High School" Map. North East Independent School District. Retrieved on March 24, 2010. Archived August 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "City of Castle Hills Map." City of Castle Hills. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
  4. "Zoning Map." City of Balcones Heights. Retrieved on March 24, 2010.
  6. Caruba, Lauren (2017-08-18). "Fight to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School resumes". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  7. Caruba, Lauren (2017-10-10). "Lee High School changes name to LEE High School to avoid link with Confederate leader". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  8. Shadrock, Chris (2015-12-06). "NEISD votes against renaming Lee High School". KSAT-TV. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  9. "Julián Castro calls on San Antonio's Robert E. Lee High School to change name". San Antonio Express-News. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  10. Zielnski, Alex (August 30, 2017). "School Board Votes to Rename Robert E. Lee High School". San Antonio Current. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  11. Caruba, Lauren (2017-08-30). "School Board Votes to Rename Robert E. Lee High School". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  12. "Suggestions NEISD actually received to rename Robert E. Lee High School". San Antonio Express-News. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  13. Mendoza, Madalyn (2017-09-19). "Robert E. Lee H.S. alumni create Rebel-inspired Fiesta medal as district drops controversial name". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  14. Donaldson, Emily (3 April 2018). "With Name Change Looming, Lee High School Adopts New Mascot". The Rivard Report. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  15. "Lee High School students decide on new mascot image". KENS. 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  16. Pugh, Clifford (April 19, 2012). "Back in the saddle again". Culture Map Houston. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  17. Jakle, Jeanne (18 May 2004). "S.A.-born actors drawing notice on air, in print". San Antonio Express-News.
  18. Bruce Collie Player Profile from NFL.com
  19. Tommy Kramer Player Profile from NFL.com
  20. Travis Lewis Player Profile from NFL.com
  21. http://www.kens5.com
  22. Richard Osborne Player Profile from NFL.com
  23. http://mlb.mlb.com/hou/team/exec_bios/postolos_george.html
  24. Pat Rockett Stats
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