Legacy of Educational Excellence High School

{{Infobox school

| name = Legacy of Educational Excellence High School

| streetaddress = 1400 Jackson-Keller Road

| country = United States

| city = San Antonio

| state = Texas

| zipcode = 78213

| county = Bexar County

| district = North East ISD

| us_nces_school_id = {{NCES School ID|483294003645|school_name=Legacy Of Educational Excellence High School|access_date=November 25, 2024|ref_name="NCES"}}

| principal =

| assistant_principals =

| staff = 149.33 {{FTE}}

| ratio = 16.00

| schooltype = high school

| fundingtype = Public

| grades = 9{{ndash}}12

| communities =

| feeders = Nimitz Middle School
Jackson Middle School

| locale = City: Large

| nickname = Volunteers (or Vols)

| colors = Red and Gray {{Color box|RED}} {{Color box|Gray}}

| conference = UIL Class 6A

| established =

| founded = 1958

| enrollment = 2,390

| enrollment_as_of = 2022{{ndash}}2023

| coordinates = {{coord|29.506951|-98.515917|type:edu_region:US-TX|display=inline,title|format=dms}}

| homepage = {{URL|http://www.neisd.net/lee/}}

}}

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,"[http://www.neisd.net/maps/campus/boundaries/maps06_07/leehs.pdf Lee High School]" Map. North East Independent School District. Retrieved on March 24, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806120356/http://www.neisd.net/maps/campus/boundaries/maps06_07/leehs.pdf |date=August 6, 2010 }} all of the city of City of Castle Hills,"[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121082721/http://cityofcastlehills.com/contact_us/map.htm City of Castle Hills Map]." City of Castle Hills. Retrieved on March 24, 2010. and a portion of Balcones Heights."[http://www.balconesheights.org/zoning_map.htm Zoning Map]." City of Balcones Heights. Retrieved on March 24, 2010. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given a "C" by the Texas Education Agency.{{cite web |title=TEA |url=https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/cgi/sas/broker?_service=marykay&_program=perfrept.perfmast.sas&_debug=0&ccyy=2022&lev=C&id=015910001&prgopt=reports%2Fsrc%2Fsrc.sas |publisher=Texas Education Agency |access-date=15 February 2024}}

History

The school opened in 1958.{{cite web|last=Kaul|first=Greta|url=http://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/NEISD-among-districts-throughout-U-S-dealing-6695936.php|title=NEISD among districts throughout U.S. dealing with Confederate school names|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2015-12-13|accessdate=2021-07-01}} It was originally named after general Robert E. Lee.

=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.{{cite news|author=Caruba, Lauren|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Fight-to-change-the-name-of-Robert-E-Lee-High-11943530.php|title=Fight to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School resumes|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2017-08-18|access-date=2017-11-03}} 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.{{cite news|author=Caruba, Lauren|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Lee-High-School-will-be-L-E-E-High-School-12265107.php|title=Lee High School changes name to LEE High School to avoid link with Confederate leader|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2017-10-10|access-date=2017-11-03}} For a period the school continued allowing students to display the Confederate battle flag on their clothing and personal items.

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.{{cite web|author=Shadrock, Chris|url=http://www.ksat.com/news/neisd-to-discuss-lee-high-school-name-change|title=NEISD votes against renaming Lee High School|publisher=KSAT-TV|date=2015-12-06|access-date=2017-11-04}} 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. Mayor of San Antonio Julián Castro also supported renaming.{{cite news|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Juli-n-Castro-says-6349127.php|title=Julián Castro calls on San Antonio's Robert E. Lee High School to change name|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2015-06-25|access-date=2017-11-04}} The vote failed on a 5-2 basis.

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. 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.{{cite news |author=Zielnski, Alex |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/08/30/school-board-votes-to-rename-robert-e-lee-high-school |title=School Board Votes to Rename Robert E. Lee High School |newspaper=San Antonio Current |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=September 1, 2017}}{{cite news |author=Caruba, Lauren |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/NEISD-board-votes-to-drop-name-of-Lee-High-School-12159774.php |title=School Board Votes to Rename Robert E. Lee High School |newspaper=San Antonio Express-News |date=2017-08-30 |access-date=2017-09-02}}

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. The San Antonio Express-News characterized several of the proposals as having "offensive and inappropriate references."{{cite news|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/slideshow/Suggestions-NEISD-actually-received-to-rename-164930.php|title=Suggestions NEISD actually received to rename Robert E. Lee High School|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2017-10-02|access-date=2017-11-04}} 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. The rename took place in fall 2018.{{cite news|author=Mendoza, Madalyn|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Robert-E-Lee-High-School-alumni-commemorating-12207106.php?ipid=artem|title=Robert E. Lee H.S. alumni create Rebel-inspired Fiesta medal as district drops controversial name|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=2017-09-19|access-date=2017-11-04}}{{cite web |last1=Donaldson |first1=Emily |title=With Name Change Looming, Lee High School Adopts New Mascot |url=https://therivardreport.com/with-name-change-looming-lee-high-school-adopts-new-mascot/ |publisher=The Rivard Report |access-date=25 May 2019 |date=3 April 2018}} Initially the "volunteer" remained as the school's mascot, 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/lee-high-school-students-decide-on-new-mascot-image/534587555|title=Lee High School students decide on new mascot image|publisher=KENS|date=2018-04-03|access-date=2018-08-02}}

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

Magnet schools

Lee is host to three magnet schools:

North East School of the Arts (NESA), 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.
International School of the Americas (ISA), 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.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy, a rigorous education focused on one of the four STEM pathways: Science, Technology (Computer Science), Engineering, and Mathematics.

L.E.E. has its own general population that are not in one of the 3 magnet programs.

Notable alumni

Lubov Azria, fashion designer {{cite news|last1=Pugh|first1=Clifford|title=Back in the saddle again |url=https://houston.culturemap.com/news/fashion/04-18-12-oh-so-sexy-herve-legers-lubov-azria-reveals-secrets-of-those-bandage-dresses/#slide=0:|access-date=June 3, 2020|work=Culture Map Houston|date=April 19, 2012}}
Ricardo Antonio Chavira, actor {{Cite news | last = Jakle | first = Jeanne | title = S.A.-born actors drawing notice on air, in print | newspaper = San Antonio Express-News | date = 18 May 2004}}
Bruce Collie (Class of 1980), former NFL offensive lineman (T) who played eight years for the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. He won two Super Bowls with San Francisco.[http://www.nfl.com/player/brucecollie/2500141/profile Bruce Collie Player Profile from NFL.com]
Tommy Kramer (Class of 1973), former NFL quarterback for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints.[http://www.nfl.com/player/tommykramer/2518807/profile Tommy Kramer Player Profile from NFL.com]
Travis Lewis (Class of 2007), former NFL linebacker for the Detroit Lions.[http://www.nfl.com/player/travislewis/2532892/profile Travis Lewis Player Profile from NFL.com]
Chris Marrou, former news anchor for KENS 5-TV in San Antonio, TX from 1973-2009{{cite web |url=http://www.kens5.com/ |title=Home |website=kens5.com}}
Richard Osborne (Class of 1972), former NFL receiver and kick returner who played four seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and St. Louis Cardinals.[http://www.nfl.com/player/richardosborne/2522565/careerstats Richard Osborne Player Profile from NFL.com]
Grace Phipps (Class of 2010), actress, Fright Night, Nine Lives of Chloe King, The Vampire Diaries, and Teen Beach Movie
George Postolos (Class of 1982), former president of Houston Astros and Houston Rockets{{Cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/hou/team/exec_bios/postolos_george.html|title = Houston Astros Front Office}}
Pat Rockett (Class of 1973), former MLB baseball player[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rockepa01.shtml Pat Rockett Stats]
James Scully, actor
Pendleton Ward, creator of cartoon series Adventure Time
Bruce Weinstein, columnist for BusinessWeek.com, CNN analyst and contributor on FOX News, NPR, Good Morning America, and The Today Show

References

External links

[http://www.neisd.net/lee/ Official website]
[http://www.neisd.net/nesa/ North East School of the Arts]
[http://www.neisd.net/isa/ International School of the Americas]
[http://www.neisd.net/stem/ STEM Academy]

Category:North East Independent School District high schools

Category:Educational institutions established in 1958

Category:High schools in San Antonio

Category:1958 establishments in Texas

Category:Magnet schools in Texas

Category:Monuments and memorials to Robert E. Lee