Schools Renamed
There will be fewer Texas schools named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee, actions largely prompted in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minnesota in May.
Midland ISD’s school board over the summer voted to change the name of its Robert E. Lee High School to a new name to be decided later.
Grand Prairie ISD renamed Robert E. Lee Elementary after a long-time African American GPISD educator.
Tyler ISD’s board changed the names of both its high schools. Robert E. Lee High School was renamed Tyler Legacy High School, and John Tyler High School’s name was shortened to Tyler High School. (John Tyler, after serving as the 10th U.S. president, was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives and was a slave owner.)
El Paso ISD’s school board voted in July to rename its Robert E. Lee Elementary as Sunrise Mountain Elementary.
The Gainesville, Goose Creek, Eagle Pass and San Angelo ISDs also reportedly engaged in discussions at the board and/or administrative levels revolving around whether to change their Lee-named schools.
In related news, Birdville ISD’s board recently approved changing the name of its Richland High School mascot (Rebels) to the Royals — and the Hays CISD school board voted to replace the Rebels as its high school’s mascot to a name to be determined by the end of the 2020-21 school year.
- Note: The 272-student, two-campus Robert Lee ISD reportedly takes its name from its location in the West Texas city of Robert Lee, which was named for the Confederate general and is the county seat of Coke County.