https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbsVwb5k_pE&feature=youtu.be
The Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men‘s motto is all about pushing their students to be successful through leadership. With an amazing staff and support system working toward getting each student ready for college entry, their achievements indicate the school is living up to its motto.
Beginning from grade six through high school graduation, young men are given the the skills and opportunities they need to prepare themselves to not only get accepted to the college of their choice, but to also excel in their chosen academic path.
Located just northeast of Downtown Houston and near Buffalo Bayou, The Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy is in a neighborhood that played a major part in the keeping the school going, which happened early this school year.
The late congressman, Mickey Leland, represented the neighborhood as a Texas congressman and anti-poverty activist, making him the African-American state representative since Reconstruction. The Houston ISD school board found it very appropriate to pay homage to this great leader by naming a school after Leland that was dedicated to empowering young men just like him.
Students are treated as though they are already in college courses, as they are given responsibilities that the teachers feel they can handle, helping them learn how to manage their time once they enter college courses. Every student at the academy is enrolled in pre-AP or AP courses, designed to not only mimic a typical college course, but also giving students the ability to earn credits towards their first year of college.
Another stand out feature of Mickey Leland are the class sizes. While an average class size in Houston ISD is about 28 students, which is 30% higher than the state average, at Mickey Leland the young men are taught in classes as small as 8-10 students. This allows for more focused teaching and a better education, as each teacher can understand their student’s ability and path to success more aptly.
Since the school is entirely male, this not only removes the distraction of relationships, but also creates a brotherhood amongst the young men attending. There is a special comradery within the student body that also aids in their education, as they are able to work better in teams and can rely on each other for assistance and understanding.
Mickey Leland is a combined middle school, junior high, and high school which means that students don’t need to face the pressures of a new school between years. No more first day jitters entering junior high, no more learning a new school set up, or new teachers. Instead the young men are able to fall right back into their academics at the beginning of the year instead of wasting time and frustration trying to assimilate into a new environment.
The school is also going to be getting a major addition soon as a part of the 2012 bond program for HISD schools, according to Houston ISD. They will be building on the site of the former Wheatley/E.O. Smith building in order to help the school accommodate up to 1,000 students, whereas enrollment currently stands at 257 students.
The Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men is definitely a standout school for anyone who wants their sons to get a secondary education, as well as be fully prepared to shine at college when they arrive. Mickey Leland was an asset to our community here in Houston, as an activist and a representative, and his legend lives on through the young men at his namesake high school who strive to be the kind of man he was.
Absolutely fantastic!! Houston ISD should be very proud.