Bob Lanier Middle School
Bob Lanier Middle School, formerly Sidney Lanier Junior High School/Middle School, is a middle school (lower secondary school) in Houston, Texas, United States, with a ZIP code of 77098. Lanier, a school of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), handles grades 6 through 8. Named after former mayor of Houston Bob Lanier, the 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 neighborhood program serves Montrose, Afton Oaks, Boulevard Oaks, River Oaks, Southampton, and other communities.
Bob Lanier Middle School
Public School (US)
Achievement with Honor
1926
HISD – Central Region
Marcus Williams
6-8
11-14
1,464 (2018/2019)
Purple Pups
The Purple Pup
The Purple Page
Montrose, Afton Oaks, Boulevard Oaks, River Oaks, Southampton
- Baker Montessori School (K-8)
- Poe Elementary School
- River Oaks Elementary School
- Others listed below
Recognized (2007/2008)
Partial: Vanguard/IBMYP
Admissions and neighborhoods served[edit]
Students zoned to Lanier automatically are eligible to attend the school, and are automatically able to attend the Vanguard program if they qualify. Several areas of Houston inside the 610 Loop are zoned to Lanier,[16] including Afton Oaks,[17] River Oaks,[18] Boulevard Oaks,[19] Avalon Place, Southampton Place[19] (including Broadacres,[20]), Shadyside,[21] portions of the Neartown area west of Montrose Boulevard (including portions of Montrose west of Montrose Boulevard, Castle Court,[22] Cherryhurst and Cherryhurst Addition,[23][24] Lancaster Place, Mandell Place, Park, Richwood, Vermont Commons, and WAMM, as well as much of Hyde Park, and portions of North Montrose[22]), Weslayan Plaza, Oak Estates, Royden Oaks, Ranch Estates, Highland Village, Lynn Park, West Lane Place, Rice Village, and 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).[25]
Notable apartment and condominium complexes zoned to Lanier include 2727 Kirby,[26] The Driscoll at River Oaks,[27] The Huntingdon,[28] and Residences at La Colombe d'Or.[29]
For non-zoned students to attend Lanier, parents must submit Vanguard magnet application forms.[30] 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.
Academics[edit]
In the 1995–1996 school year, 82% of black students and 70% of Hispanic students at Lanier passed state tests.[31] 98% of White students had passed the same tests. Tom Monaghan, the principal, said "If you looked at the big picture, we looked pretty good. But we said, 'That's not good enough. We have to look at the zoned kids.'"[32]
The school added an extra teacher for mathematics remediation for 8th graders, established new instructional strategies for language arts, added additional mathematics instruction for 7th graders in need of help in mathematics content, and created after-school reading and writing groups for Latino students. In the 2000–2001 school year, after the measures were taken, 89% of black students and 86% of Hispanic students passed state tests.[31]
As of 2011 Lanier had received Texas Gold Performance Awards based on performance in language arts, mathematics, reading, science, social studies, and writing.[33]
Languages: Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese.[34]
Location and campus[edit]
The campus consists of a three-story main building, a separate building (containing a band and a drama room), and 2 temporary buildings (for the health 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 the South and North Patios, the latter officially named the "Tom Hutch-Hutchings Memorial Gardens" in honor of a longtime Lanier World Cultural Studies teacher. There is also a Chess Patio where one can play chess located next to the cafeteria. Lunch may be eaten on the South (also known as Purple) or Chess Patio, in addition to the cafeteria.
In the main building, the first and second floors have 6th and 7th grade classes. The third floor has 8th grade, core classes, and electives.[35]
Lanier's campus has been expanded numerous times since it was first built. The most notable expansion was the addition of the area of the building housing the cafeteria and gymnasium. This expansion has resulted in some quirks in the building that are still visible today, most notably a door leading to stairs to the basement that is only half-exposed above the floor of the hallway. These stairs are no longer in service, though the door can be opened even though it's blocked by the hallway floor. Students aren't allowed to open the door and/or go down those stairs. Prior to this expansion, the cafeteria was located where the library is today, on the third floor. A dumbwaiter, located where the elevator is today, carried food to the cafeteria.(:
The windows at Lanier were upgraded at some point. Originally, they were 4-panel window panes that could each be opened. They were upgraded to standard slide-open windows. Possibly at this point, for currently unknown reasons, many of the windowsills in the back side of the school were bricked up.
"The Pipe of Peace", a mural by the artist Grace Spaulding John, was originally located in the front of the school before being painted over. It was repainted in the summer of 2015, in its original place, in the front of the school. In addition to "The Pipe of Peace" there was a mural of the story of King Arthur on the third floor, and a mural of half black and white painting of the school from 1926 and the a color version of the school in the early 1990s to 2000s. Both of the latter Murals have been painted over.[36]
Lanier is located in Winlow Place blocks 2 and 5,[37] in the Neartown community.[38] 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.[39]
School uniform[edit]
All Lanier students are required to wear school uniforms consisting of monogrammed LMS polo shirts in colors of red, black, or white monday thru thursday,[40] and late in the 2013 school year (around May) purple shirts were brought back. They had not been available for about 10 years. The polo shirts purchased at the school and pairs of khaki bottoms (trousers, shorts, capris, or skirts).[41] GSG leaders wear maroon and green shirts. This uniform was instituted at the start of the 1997/1998 school year. The school also provides used uniforms for students who may not be able to afford them.
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.[42][43]