Lee High School (Houston, Texas)

Lee High School (formerly named Robert E. Lee High School) is a secondary school located at 6529 Beverly Hill in Houston, Texas in zip code 77057. Lee High School serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.

[http://www.yesprep.org/campuses/ YES Prep Lee] , a charter middle school, is located inside the Lee High School campus; the school plans to expand to a six through twelve campus with thirty classrooms. [Radcliffe, Jennifer. " [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4383109 YES PREP PROGRAM / Unveiling a unique education alliance / Up to 130 charter school 6th-graders will attend classes at HISD's Lee High School campus this fall] ." "Houston Chronicle". July 12, 2007.]

History

Lee High School was named after Robert E. Lee, and was opened in 1962 to relieve high attendance at Lamar High School. At that time, Lee High School had an all white and mostly affluent and suburban student body " [http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sslc/federal_grantees/cohort4/project_directors/washingtondc/LeeHSAmstutz.pdf Lee High School Where the World Comes To Learn] ," "Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory"] .

The United Daughters of the Confederacy's Robert E. Lee chapter number 186 supported the school in its early years; it donated portraits of Lee, gave American Civil War-related books to the library, and gave the school a rebel flag. The school's symbol was the general's family coat of arms, which has a squirrel on the top holding a nut. In 1999 the school's name was changed to simply "Lee High School", and its logo became that of a four-point, star bodied-person. "Tee Time." "Houston Press". [http://www.houstonpress.com/2003-11-13/news/tee-time/ 1] .]

As times changed, the demographic of Lee's student body shifted. As of 2008 it made up predominantly of Hispanic immigrants and sons and daughters of Hispanic immigrants. Lee's student body was relieved of about 1,000 students when Westside High School opened in 2000, removing the last significant numbters of middle class students and non-Hispanic White students. By 2004 three out of every four Lee students were born to non-English-speaking households." [http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/06/16/40houston.h23.html Personal Touches] ." "Education Week".]

In 2003 the school dropped American football from its sports program; Westside drained most of the American football players from the school and the school did not have enough children who were interested in playing American football. This is likely because American football is not a popular sport in the home countries of its largely Hispanic student body.

According to an October 2004 report given by whatkidscando.org called "Students as Allies in Improving Their Schools," Lee students did not cite many academic concerns when filling out surveys about their school experiences; 80 percent of students favored replacing the tennis courts with basketball courts, 96 percent of students favored cleaning the bathrooms and 52 percent expressed a desire to help clean the bathrooms. The school had a split opinion about the idea of giving guided tours of the students' neighborhoods to the teachers. [" [http://web.archive.org/web/20070221204802/http://www.whatkidscando.org/studentallies/pdfs/saa_finalreport.pdf Students as Allies in Improving Their Schools] ." "Whatkidscando.org".]

Newcomer Charter High School (as of 2007, it is known as Liberty High School), which opened in January 2005, was housed in Lee High School until summer 2007, when the new campus at 6400 Southwest Freeway (U.S. Highway 59) opened. [" [http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c3be7ae253a1e010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=f6d4ced1cc65e010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD Students at HISD’s Newcomer Charter School Make History] . "Houston Independent School District".]

According to the Houston Independent School District October 2006 "For Your Information" newsletter, Lee was one of four high schools that took the most Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Charles Rotramel, the owner of the nonprofit program Youth Advocates, stated in a 2006 "Houston Chronicle" article that Lee High School, Westbury High School, and Sharpstown High School have suffered from the actions of youth criminal gangs [" [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4244990 Troublesome spike in teen violent crime] ," "Houston Chronicle", December 10, 2006] .

In 2007 Johns Hopkins University referred to Lee as a "dropout factory" where at least 40 percent of the entering freshman class does not make it to their senior year. [" [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5259695.html Report points to 'dropout factories'] ," "Houston Chronicle", October 31, 2007]

tudent body

During the 2006-2007 school year Lee had 1,954 students. [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Lee_HS.pdf Lee High School] " Profile. "Houston Independent School District". Accessed October 6, 2008.]

Lee's student body was overwhelmingly Hispanic, with 78% of the students identified as Hispanic. Of the remainder 13% were African-American, 5% were Asian, 4% were White, and less than 1% were Native American.

In a 2003 article by the "Houston Press", principal Steve Amstutz stated, referring to the "Hispanic" designation, "But that covers from Nuevo Laredo to Tierra del Fuego. We're from the top of Mexico to the south of Argentina. And I've got kids from everywhere in between" . Amstutz said in a 2002 article that "Sometimes I can lose a whole country in a day, other times I can gain one." [Downing, Margaret. "Wake-Up Call." "Houston Press". November 28, 2002. [http://www.houstonpress.com/2002-11-28/news/wake-up-call/2 2] .]

78% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch and the federal aid associated with those programs. Though in recent years voilence in Lee has greatly, reduced, kids of all backgrounds get to know each other and learn facinating things about other cultures, including Arabic, Nigerian, Indian, Chineese, and many other backgrounds. This teaches the students diversity, unlike other schools such as Westside Which many have a wide range of White students who only converse with one or two kinds of backgrounds.

Neighborhoods served by Lee

Many areas of Houston outside of the 610 Loop, have zoning regulations which funnel students to Lee High School" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/LeeHS.pdf Lee High School Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".] , such as Uptown Houston, St. George Place (Lamar Terrace), Larchmont, Briargrove [" [http://www.briargrove.org/images/MapOutline1.gifBriargrove Subdivision] ." "Briargrove Property Owners, Inc." Accessed September 24, 2008.] , Shenandoah, [" [http://www.sca77081.com/downloads/maps/NeighborhoodWithSubdivisionsMarked.pdf NeighborhoodWithSubdivisionsMarked.pdf] (Composite map). "Harris County Appraisal District". Accessed October 6, 2008.] Tanglewood, Tanglewilde, Briar Meadow, Briarcroft, Woodlake, Jeanetta, the Houston ISD portions of Piney Point Village and Hunters Creek Village, Sharpstown Country Club Estates, Gulfton, and small portions of Westchase east of Gessner Road.

Anyone living in an area with zoning to Lee High School has the option to go instead to Lamar High School or Westside High School. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050509100740/hs.houstonisd.org/leehs/home2.htm Home Page] as of May 9, 2005. "Lee High School".]

Students that attend Lee tend to come from low income backgrounds, so Lee "serves" the low income communities within its attendance zone. For instance, most residents of Gulfton, a low-income immigrant neighborhood, attend Lee High School. [" [http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/truancy/success_1.html Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project] ." "Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention" of the "U.S. Department of Justice".] [" [http://www.slehc.org/HNI/HNI_Summaries/Gulfton_Area_Neighborhood.cfm 2007 Community Health Report: The Gulfton Area Neighborhood] ." "St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities".] A general trend is that students from wealthier families and students living in wealthier neighborhoods choose the alternative high schools rather than Lee High School.

Dress code

Lee High School allows for students to wear any collared shirt, plain, plaid, or striped, with no pictures, prints, graphics, or advertisements. Collared shirts may have logos at or smaller than 1.5 x 1.5 inches. Students may wear Lee High School and college and university t-shirts. [" [http://www.leehighschool.org/dress_code.htm Dress Code] ." "Lee High School".]

Feeder patterns

Elementary schools that feed into Lee include:
*Briargrove [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/BriargroveES.pdf Briargrove Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Benavidez [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/BenavidezES.pdf Benavidez Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Piney Point [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/PineyPointES.pdf Piney Point Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Rodriguez [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/RodriguezES.pdf Rodriguez Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".] (portions)
*Braeburn [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/BraeburnES.pdf Braeburn Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Condit [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/ConditES.pdf Condit Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Cunningham [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/CunninghamES.pdf Cunningham Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Emerson [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/EmersonES.pdf Emerson Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Neff [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/NeffES.pdf Neff Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*St. George Place [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/StGeorgeplaceES.pdf St. George Place Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Sutton [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/SuttonES.pdf Sutton Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*White [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/WhiteES.pdf White Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]

Middle schools that feed into Lee include:
*Grady [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/GradyMS.pdf Grady Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".] Partial:
*Long [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/LongMS.pdf Long Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Pershing [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/PershingMS.pdf Pershing Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Revere [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/RevereMS.pdf Revere Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]
*Sharpstown [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/SharpstownMS.pdf Sharpstown Middle Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]

K-8 schools that feed into Lee include:
*Pilgrim [" [http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/schoolboundarymaps/PilgrimES.pdf Pilgrim Elementary Attendance Zone] ." "Houston Independent School District".]

All pupils zoned to Long and Pershing Middle Schools may attend Pin Oak Middle School. [" [http://web.archive.org/web/20020214054405/http://dist.houstonisd.org/southwest/schools/pin_oak/letter5.htm Pin Oak Middle School] ." "The Southwest District". "Houston Independent School District".] Accordingly, Pin Oak also feeds into Lee High School.

Residents of the Briargrove, Emerson, Pilgrim, and Piney Point elementary attendance zones may apply for the [http://es.houstonisd.org/briarmeadowes Briarmeadow Charter School] , so the K-8 school students may attend Lee, although they are also eligible to attend Lamar or Westside High Schools." [http://es.houstonisd.org/briarmeadowEs/parentInfoRegistration.html Registration] ." "Briarmeadow Charter School".]

Notable alumni

* Billy Gibbons (member of ZZ Top)" [http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c3783acb02efc010VgnVCM10000052147fa6RCRD Distinguished HISD Alumni] ," "Houston Independent School District"]
* Melanie Hauser (freelance sports writer)
* Randy Lemmon (radio personality on Houston's KPRC)
* Ron Stone Jr. (1981) (author and reporter on KPRC-TV station)

References

ee also

External links

* [http://www.leehighschool.org/home.htm Lee High School's official website]
* [http://www.houstonpress.com/2003-11-13/news/tee-time/ Tee Time] - "Houston Press] "
* [http://www.releereunion.com Reunion information for former Robert E.Lee High School Students]
* [http://manvelpd.cityofmanvel.com/news/ring_top_clue.htm Well-worn ring from the 1975 class of Houston's Robert E. Lee High School top clue in cold case.]
* [http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48232See Websleuths discussion on the case of this unidentified female] [http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/UnidentifiedDetails.asp?id=U0310014 Includes Photos of Ring & NEW sketch of Princess Blue (Jane Doe]
* [http://www.hometown.aol.com/melaniehauser/lee.html Robert E. Lee Class of 1971]
* [http://www.whatkidscando.org/specialcollections/student_as_allies/pdfs/saasitereports/houstonreport_final.pdf Report on Houston High Schools] by WhatKidsCanDo