The HISD Board of Education voted unanimously to rename the Young Men’s College Preparatory Academy as the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men. According to Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones this is an opportunity to honor the legacy of the inspirational congressman. “Mickey Leland lived a life of immeasurable service,” said Skillern-Jones. “It is only befitting that we bestow this honor in his name to memorialize his life and contributions. He was not just an elected official but the epitome of a public servant.”
The name goes into effect immediately.
Leland, who served six years in the Texas House of Representatives, graduated from HISD’s Phillis Wheatley High School and Texas Southern University. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he chaired the House Select Committee on Hunger and was passionate about both domestic and international hunger issues, health care for the poor, and aid for the homeless. In 1989, Leland was killed in a plane crash while leading a humanitarian relief mission to an isolated refugee camp in Ethiopia, which sheltered unaccompanied children fleeing war in the Sudan.
New boundaries for HISD’s nine trustee districts were also approved. The trustee districts were redrawn as a result of the annexation of North Forest ISD in 2013. With the change, a few schools will receive new trustees:
| School | Former Trustee | New Trustee |
| Fonwood Early Childhood Center | Rhonda Skillern-Jones | Juliet Stipeche |
| A.A. Milne Elementary School | Greg Meyers | Wanda Adams |
| Tijerina Elementary School | Manuel Rodriguez | Juliet Stipeche |
| Wainwright Elementary School | Rhonda Skillern-Jones | Anna Eastman |
| Challenge Early College High School | Harvin C. Moore | Michael L. Lunceford |
| The High School for Performing and Visual Arts | Paula M. Harris | Michael L. Lunceford |
| Edison Middle School | Manuel Rodriguez | Juliet Stipeche |
| Woodrow Wilson Montessori | Paula M. Harris | Harvin C. Moore |
The board’s special meeting was held at 5 p.m. in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th St., 77092). The full agenda is posted online.
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