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Charter middle school in Houston, Texas
The Lawson Academy,[1] formerly WALIPP-TSU Preparatory Academy (WALIPP Prep), is a charter middle school in the Third Ward area of Houston, Texas.[2] It was established as waves of single sex public schools opened in American inner city communities circa the 2000s.[3]
The school focuses on students living in urban communities,[4] but does not have a specific focus on students deemed to be "at risk".[5]
History
It was established by the 501(c)(3) William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity (WALIPP),[6] headed by Audrey Lawson, the wife of the pastor emeritus of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, William Lawson.[7] The nonprofit had been established on April 15, 1996.[8] After members of the U.S. Congress expressed support for male-only and female-only education at the primary and secondary levels,[9] and a federal law passed making it easier for single-gender schools to get federal funding,[10] WALIPP opened the school in fall 2002.[11]
The school was initially boys' only,[11] and a charter school affiliated with the Houston Independent School District (HISD). In the beginning it was given temporary classroom space at Dodson Elementary School in what is now East Downtown. In Spring 2003 it moved into its first dedicated facility at 3810 Ruth Street. In 2007 it moved to 3100 Cleburne,[12] second floor,[13] on the Texas Southern University campus. In 2010 it received a charter from the State of Texas and was no longer affiliated with HISD.[14] It added a girls' program in 2011,[11] housed at St. James Episcopal Church. It received its current name in 2015.[14]
The prospective opening of the current Lawson building was January 2017, with $1 million of funds coming from the Kinder Foundation,[15] as well as a grant from the federal government. The school hitherto did not have a permanent campus partly because charter schools cannot raise bonds to have new campuses built.[16] The current campus is in proximity to the University of Houston.[15]
Curriculum
Despite the association with the pastor, the school is banned from giving religious instruction as it is a public charter school.[17]
Admissions
As of 2010 the school had no entrance requirements.[18]
Student body
As of 2014 most of the students came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. There were students who originated from and who did not originate from the area around the school.[5]
References
^"The Lawson Academy." Learn Central Houston. Retrieved on January 19, 2019. The url provided links to the Lawson Academy.
^Issues in K-12 Education: Selections From CQ Researcher. SAGE Publications. 2009-11-02. p. 156. ISBN 9781412980074. - Old ISBN 1412980070 - The book has a paragraph about WALIPP Academy and uses it as an example of the phenomenon of single sex public schools in the 2000s.
This list is incomplete. This template refers to the modern Third Ward and not the historical political definition. Exact definitions of the Third Ward differ depending on the agency/authority/person. Leeland/Third Ward is outside of the common boundaries of the Third Ward but is in close proximity. DeBakey HSHP was in the Third Ward area but moved away from it in summer 2017. Pro-Vision Academy was in the Third Ward from 1995 to 2008, moving to Sunnyside afterwards.
