Sidney Lanier Middle School is a middle school located at 2600 Woodhead Street in Houston, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77098. Lanier, a school of the Houston Independent School District, handles grades 6 through 8.
Lanier Middle School is located in Neartown and near Montrose and has both neighborhood non-magnet and Vanguard/IBMYP (of the International Baccalaureate) gifted/talented programs.
Lanier's speech and debate team has won seven consecutive national titles (2003-2009) at the National Junior Forensic League Speech and Debate Championship. The debate coach is Franz Hill. Jim Henley, the former Lanier debate teacher, unsuccessfully ran for the United States Congress against John Culberson in 2006. Henley retired after the 2006-2007 school year.
History
Lanier opened in 1926 as one of HISD's first junior high schools. This school was named for a well-known Southern poet, Sidney Lanier. In 1926, the Purple Pup was adopted as Lanier's mascot.
In 1935 students from Lanier created a petition to rename Woodhead Street, named after John Woodhead, to Higginbotham Street, after the principal, Blanch Higginbotham. According to the article "Historic Houston Streets: The Stories Behind the Name," students at other schools used "Wood head" as a derogatory label for Lanier students, implying that they lacked intelligence. After hearing a testimony about Woodhead's character, the Houston City Council decided to keep the previous street name. The students apologized to E. S. Woodhead, John Woodhead's brother and a Houstonian.
In 1973, Lanier's Vanguard program was instated. Lanier received a rededication after renovations in 1982.
In September 1991 Lanier was one of 32 HISD schools that had capped enrollments; in other words the school was filled to capacity and excess students had to attend other schools.
GSG
GSG (Guidance and Support Group) is a class similar to homeroom where students go to every day except Wednesday to discuss violence, goal-setting, and other issues. Students stay in the same GSG for all three years. Two eighth graders in GSG are picked as student "leaders" each year, and help teach the class.
Neighborhoods Served
Several areas of Houston inside the 610 Loop are zoned to Lanier, including Afton Oaks, River Oaks, Boulevard Oaks, Avalon Place, Southampton Place, Broad Acres, Willowick Place, portions of the Neartown area west of Montrose Boulevard (including portions of Montrose west of Montrose Boulevard, Castle Court, Hyde Park, Richwood, Lancaster Place, and Cherryhurst), Weslayan Plaza, Oak Estates, Royden Oaks, Ranch Estates, Highland Village, Lynn Park, West Lane Place, Shadyside, Rice Village, most of Upper Kirby (areas of the district located west of Edloe and north of Westpark, residential areas located east of Edloe, west of Kirby, north of U.S. Route 59, and areas located east of Kirby). The Greenway Condominiums are also zoned to Lanier.
Campus
The campus consists of a three story main building, a separate building (containing a band and a drama room), and 2 temporary buildings (for leadership, debate, health, and the weight room). Lanier has an indoor pool located in the basement of the main building. Lanier also has an auditorium with a wraparound balcony located in the center of the campus between two patios. There is also a chess patio located next to the cafeteria named because you can play chess there.
Extra-curricular Activities and Non-Core classes
Lanier has a wide array of activities that students can participate in.
Sports: Track and Field, Cross Country, Volley Ball, Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Swim Team, Lacrosse, and Tennis
Classes and After school Activities: Speech and Debate (7 time National Champions), Drama, Art/Media Kids, robotics, journalism, chess club, Model United Nations, photography, Fiction Club, Geography Club, NJHS, Band, Cheerleading, Drill Team, Name that Book, Ladies of Essence - Stomp Club, Breakdancing, Scrabble Club, Student Council, Orchestra, Yearbook
Languages: Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese
School Uniform
All Lanier students are required to wear school uniforms consisting of monogrammed LMS polo shirts in colors of red, black, purple, or white purchased at the school and pairs of khaki bottoms (trousers, shorts, capris, or skirts) Skirts and capris are for girls only.. GSG leaders must wear maroon and green shirts. Students can also wear school club T-shirts during school on days in which they attend the club. This uniform was instituted at the start of the 1997-1998 school year.
The Texas Education Agency specifies that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "bona fide" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.
Student Body
During the 2006-2007 school year, Lanier had 1,328 students .
- 44% were White
- 31% were Hispanic
- 13% were African-American
- 11% were Asian
- Less than 1% were Native American
30% qualified for free or reduced lunch.
Feeder Patterns
Zoned schools
Elementary schools that feed into Lanier include:
- River Oaks
- Poe (partial)
- Roberts (partial)
- St. George Place (partial)
- Wilson (partial)
All students who are zoned to Lanier are zoned to Lamar High School .
Location
Lanier is located west of Houston's Neartown neighborhood. Lanier is nearby single family houses and small shops. A convenience store, a hardware store, and a few restaurants are near Lanier Middle School.
The Upper Kirby district, which is near Lanier, plans to establish a "teen center" at Richmond at Wake Forest geared toward students at Lanier, St. John's, Lamar, and other Upper Kirby schools and schools near Upper Kirby. Funding issues have delayed establishment of the center.
Admissions Policy
Students zoned to Lanier automatically are eligible to attend the school, and are automatically able to attend the Vanguard program if they qualify.
For non-zoned students to attend Lanier, parents must submit Vanguard magnet application forms. Admissions from this point on are drawn randomly on a lottery-basis. 256 students are drawn each year. Students beyond this are put on a wait-list.
Notable alumni
- Walter Cronkite (Journalist)
- Denton Cooley (Surgeon)
- John Culberson (Congressman)
- George Ducas (Singer)
- Linda Ellerbee (Journalist)
- Emeka Okafor (Basketball player)
- Eric Marshall (Musician, Lead Singer of The Paperwaits)
References
- ^ Jim Henley for Winning Schools | Vote for Winning Schools: Jim Henley
- ^ Hinton, Marks. "Historic Houston Streets: The Stories Behind the Name." The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park . July 19, 2007. Retrieved on April 18, 2009.
- ^ "A Hypertext History of Lanier." Lanier Middle School . August 18, 2004. Retrieved on April 18, 2009.
- ^ Markley, Melanie. "32 schools hit enrollment cap." Houston Chronicle . Thursday September 26, 1991. A17. Retrieved on April 24, 2009.
- ^ a b "Lanier Middle Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District
- ^ "Map." River Oaks Property Owners Association . Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- ^ "Information: Schools." Boulevard Oaks . Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- ^ Martin, Betty L. "Gated development set to rise near River Oaks." November 25, 2008. Retrieved on November 26, 2008.
- ^ Cherryhurst Civic Association
- ^ "Uniform and Apparel Policy." Lanier Middle School .
- ^ "DOCKET NO. 008-R5-901." Texas Education Agency. Accessed October 13, 2008.
- ^ "Lanier Middle School" Profile. Houston Independent School District .
- ^ "River Oaks Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Poe Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Roberts Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "St. George Place Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Wilson Elementary Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Lamar High School Attendance Zone." Houston Independent School District.
- ^ "Upper Kirby plans flood relief / While residents hope for other projects, funds remain scarce." Houston Chronicle .
- ^ "Magnet English Home." Houston Independent School District .
- ^ a b "Purple Page, November 11, 2005." Lanier Middle School PTO .
- ^
Welcome To Lanier Middle School/Gwinnett County
Included is a mission statement, activities, news, faculty and lunchroom information.
Welcome To Lanier Middle School
Office Hours 8-4:30| Main Number 703-934-2400 | Attendance 703-934-2424 |Fax: 703-934-2497
Sidney Lanier Middle School - Home of the Purple Pups
LANIER MIDDLE SCHOOL. 2600 Woodhead Houston, TX 77098 713-942-1900. Houston Independent School District |
Lanier Middle School (Houston) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sidney Lanier Middle School is a middle school located at 2600 Woodhead Street in Houston, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77098. Lanier, a school of the Houston ...
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Lanier Middle School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lanier Middle School, named after the poet Sidney Lanier, is the name of at least three schools in the United States: Lanier Middle School (Houston) in Houston, Texas
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Acronym Definition; LMSL: Lanier Middle School Library (Houston, TX)