History
Robert E. Lee High School was established in 1928, during the Jim Crow-era, and named in honor of Robert E. Lee, the military commander of the Confedererate Army. [3] It opened as a segregated school for white students; Mexican students were not allowed until later while Black students were not allowed to attend until the Fall of 1967. [3] Prior to this, Black students attended Goose Creek School for Coloreds, which was later renamed George Washington Carver High School. [3] Mexican students attended Goose Creek Mexican School. As of 1923 the White students were housed in three brick buildings replete with laboratories and offices, while the Mexican school was a one room frame building, and the Black school was a two room frame building. [4]
In 1940, the school's band adopted uniforms meant to be authentic representations of the uniforms worn by the Confederate Army. [3] The community raised and donated money to repay the district for the cost of the new uniforms. [3] In 1952, the school band performed for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a neo-Confederate organization, at their national convention in Jackson, Mississippi. [3]
In 1970, several Black American parents requested that Goose Creek CISD board rename the school but the request was rejected. [5]
On April 29, 1987, a three-alarm fire destroyed the interior of the main building, forcing students to finish the school year at rival Sterling High School. Initially thought to be accidental, it was eventually found to be arson. [6] The main building interior was rebuilt and formally rededicated in 1988. The incident is mentioned in the Mean Gene Kelton song "Cruisin' Texas Avenue".
In September 2020 Pearland resident Kevin Craven asked the Goose Creek CISD board to rename the school, but the board voted not to change the school's name, four members voting against and three voting for. Craven is the grandson of Elmer Cartwright, one of the individuals in the 1970s who asked for the renaming. The board instead created a committee to study whether a renaming should be done. [5]
In March 2021 the Facility Names Committee chairperson issued a recommendation that the board keep the school's name. [7] By that month only three schools in Texas were still named after Robert E. Lee, Baytown Lee among them. Shelby Webb of the Houston Chronicle wrote that students were relatively apathetic about the name while "Adults in the community have been more passionate on the issue." [5]
Academics
Alongside the typical core courses offered at all high schools, Lee also offers some advanced courses in various fields. The school offers Advanced Placement courses for Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Physics, Art History, World History, U.S. History, European History, English Language, English Literature, American Government, Computer Science A, and Computer Science AB. In 2007, the school produced twenty five AP Scholars, [8] and twenty nine in 2006. [9]
Demographics
The school has had a significant demographic shift as with many public schools in the Houston area. The school went from a non-Hispanic white-majority to a Hispanic-majority in the 2000s. As of 2019, the school's ethnic breakdown is 10 percent non-Hispanic White, 73 percent Hispanic, 15 percent African-American, and 2 percent other. [11] As of 2020, the school had an enrollment of 1,784, of whom 1,275 identified as Hispanic, 253 as Black, 215 as White, 12 as Asian, 6 as American Indian/Alaska Native and 21 as two or more races. 952 were male, 832 were female. [12]
Chambers County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46,571. The county seat is Anahuac. Chambers County is one of the nine counties that comprise Greater Houston, the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area.
Beach City is a U.S. city in Chambers County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,221 at the 2020 census. It can now be considered as a part of Greater Houston.
Highlands is a census-designated place (CDP) located along the Union Pacific Railroad, north of Interstate 10 and west of Farm to Market Road 2100, in an industrialized area of unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,612 at the 2020 census.
Baytown is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Harris and Chambers counties. Located in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, it lies on the northern side of the Galveston Bay complex near the outlets of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou. It is the sixth-largest city within this metropolitan area and seventh largest community. Major highways serving the city include State Highway 99, State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. At the 2020 U.S. census, Baytown had a population of 83,701, and it had an estimated population of 84,324 in 2022.
Lee College is a public community college in Baytown, Texas. Lee College's main campus occupies 40 acres (160,000 m2) near downtown Baytown and extension campuses throughout its service area. The school has an enrollment of over 7,773 total students as of Fall 2018. Approximately 83% are part-time students, and about 17% are enrolled full-time. The college offers over 60 academic, technical education, and non-credit continuing education programs.
Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District (GCCISD) is a school district headquartered in Baytown, Texas, United States.
Westfield High School is a high school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, near Houston.
Crosby Independent School District is a public school district based in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Crosby ISD serves the communities of Barrett and Crosby.
Stallworth Stadium is a stadium in Baytown, Texas. It is primarily used for American football and soccer and is the home field of Robert E. Lee High School, Ross S. Sterling High School, and Goose Creek Memorial High School. All three schools are in the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District.
Port Arthur Independent School District is a public school district based in Port Arthur, Texas, United States.
Lamar Consolidated High School is a grades 9–12 school located in Rosenberg, Texas, United States. The school, which serves the City of Richmond, parts of Rosenberg, and unincorporated areas of Fort Bend County, is a part of the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD). All areas served by LCHS are within the Houston metropolitan area.
Conroe High School is a secondary school in Conroe, Texas. The school is a part of the Conroe Independent School District and serves most of the city of Conroe as well as portions of unincorporated Montgomery County, including the community of River Plantation. The campus was initially built in 1964 to replace the older Davy Crockett High School as Conroe's primary high school. The campus has been updated, renovated and expanded through various bond measures, including in 2004, 2015, and 2019.
Goose Creek Memorial High School is a public high school in an unincorporated area of Harris County, Texas, United States, and is located north of Baytown. Goose Creek Memorial is one of the three public high schools in the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District and was built to accommodate the growing population of northern Goose Creek CISD. It was opened with grades 9 to 11 for the 2008–2009 school year, adding students in grade 12 the following year. In 2011, the school was rated "Academically Acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.
Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade.
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, all of the city of City of Castle Hills, and a portion of Balcones Heights. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given a "C" by the Texas Education Agency.
Johnson Abernathy Graetz High School is a public high school with grades 9 through 12 located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. The principal is Dr. Carlos Hammonds. The school is part of the Montgomery Public Schools system.
The 45th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army Mounted Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While authorized by the State Military Board as an infantry regiment, the unit was mounted for Price's Missouri Expedition and was officially designated as mounted infantry. Due to its mounted status, the unit is sometimes referred to as the 45th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used. The unit is most often referred to as either Baber's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment or Clark's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, after its two commanders. After the war many former members referred to the regiment as "Shaver's Cavalry" because of the large number of officers and men who had previously served in Colonel R. G. Shaver's 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and 38th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, but Colonel Shaver was never actually associated with the unit.
The 46th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army Mounted Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While authorized by the State Military Board as an infantry regiment, the unit was mounted for Price's Missouri Expedition and served as mounted infantry. Due to its mounted status, the unit is sometimes referred to as the 46th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used. The unit is almost always referred to as either Coleman's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment or Crabtree's Cavalry in official reports from the period.
The 47th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army Mounted Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While authorized by the State Military Board as an infantry regiment, the unit was mounted for Price's Missouri Expedition and was officially designated as mounted infantry. Due to its mounted status, the unit is sometimes referred to as the 47th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used. The unit is most often referred to as Crandell's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, after its commander Colonel Lee Crandell.
George Washington Carver High School was a public secondary school in Baytown, Texas. It served as the high school for Black students until the public schools in the area were desegregated.
