M. R. Wood Alternative Education Center (MRW), also known as the M. R. Wood Center for Learning, was an alternative school in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...

and a part of the

Fort Bend Independent School District The Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district system in the U.S. state of Texas based in the city of Sugar Land. The district spans covering almost all of the city of Sugar Land, the city ...

(FBISD). It was in proximity to the

Imperial Sugar Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. The company was established in 1843 and has undergone ownership changes multiple ti ...

plant.

History

As M.R. Wood School it was historically a segregated school for black students. Housing grades 1-12, it opened in the 1940s. It was originally a part of the

Sugar Land Independent School District Sugar Land Independent School District #17 was a school district headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas. History It was created under a state law that was approved and became law on March 18, 1918. Under state law, there was a 7-person board, and a ...

until it merged with the

Missouri City Independent School District Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to th ...

to form the FBISD in 1959. At one point black students from

Missouri City Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County, Texas, Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the c ...

were moved to M.R. Wood from Missouri City High School.History
"

. Retrieved on July 20, 2017. The panthers were the school mascot. In the 1950s and 1960s the American football team won eight district championships in a row. The 2010 book ''Sugar Land'', written by the city government, stated that M.R. Wood's athletic teams performed highly. As the desegregation process occurred in September 1965, M.R. Wood students temporarily went to the Lakeview School. After desegregation,

Dulles High School John Foster Dulles High School, more commonly known as Dulles High School, is a high school in Sugar Land, Texas. It was the first site purchase and new build, in the 1950s, of the newly formed Fort Bend Independent School District, which held i ...

was the only zoned high school for students of all races until Willowridge High School opened in 1979. Lakeview became the home for other former M. R. Wood students. Wood was changed into an alternative education school housing all

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

programs. In August 1992 its name changed to the M. R. Wood Alternative Education Center. At some point education of special education students was moved to the local public schools due to new state laws. By 2001 there were seven programs at M. R. Wood. The school was the site of FBISD's Behavioral Learning Center, for students who have violated disciplinary codes. As of that year conditions were crowded; there was capacity for 150 students. Conditions remained crowded by 2003, with many temporary buildings being used. FBISD hoped to establish another disciplinary school in the eastern edge of the district.

References

External links

*
M.R.Wood Center for Learning
- FBISD, 2014 FBISD Bond
Welcome to M.R. Wood's New Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, M.R. School Public elementary schools in Texas Public middle schools in Texas Public high schools in Fort Bend County, Texas Schools in Sugar Land, Texas Fort Bend Independent School District schools Fort Bend Independent School District high schools Historically segregated African-American schools in Texas

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links