The Lawson Academy, formerly WALIPP-TSU Preparatory Academy (WALIPP Prep), is a charter middle school in the Third Ward area of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It was established as waves of single sex public schools opened in American inner city communities circa the 2000s. The school focuses on students living in urban communities, but does not have a specific focus on students deemed to be "at risk".

History

It was established by the

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity (WALIPP), headed by Audrey Lawson, the wife of the pastor emeritus of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, William Lawson. The nonprofit had been established on April 15, 1996. After members of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

expressed support for male-only and female-only education at the primary and secondary levels, and a federal law passed making it easier for single-gender schools to get federal funding, WALIPP opened the school in fall 2002.About
" The Lawson Academy. Retrieved on January 19, 2019. The school was initially boys' only, and a charter school affiliated with the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD). In the beginning it was given temporary classroom space at Dodson Elementary School in what is now

East Downtown East Downtown Houston (EaDo) is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The East Downtown Management District (EDMD), manages the area with offices headquartered at START Houston, a co-working space 1121 Delano Street. The community is locat ...

. In Spring 2003 it moved into its first dedicated facility at 3810 Ruth Street. In 2007 it moved to 3100 Cleburne, second floor, on the

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

campus. In 2010 it received a charter from the State of Texas and was no longer affiliated with HISD. It added a girls' program in 2011, housed at St. James Episcopal Church. It received its current name in 2015. The prospective opening of the current Lawson building was January 2017, with $1 million of funds coming from the

Kinder Foundation The Kinder Foundation is a Houston-based 501c3 nonprofit organization. It was established in 1997 by Richard Kinder and Nancy Kinder. Since its establishment, the Kinder Foundation has committed more than $410 million in grants and transformat ...

,Kinder Foundation gives $1M to build new charter school near UH
" ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''. June 24, 2016. Retrieved on January 19, 2019. 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. The current campus is in proximity to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Curriculum

Despite the association with the pastor, the school is banned from giving religious instruction as it is a public charter school.

Admissions

the school had no entrance requirements.

Student body

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.

References

Notes

* Much of the content originates from

Third Ward, Houston Third Ward is an area of Houston, Texas, United States, that evolved from one of the six historic wards of the same name. It is located in the southeast Houston management district. Third Ward, located inside the 610 Loop is immediately southe ...

External links

The Lawson Academy
*
William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson Academy 2002 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 2002 Third Ward, Houston Charter schools in Houston Public middle schools in Houston Houston Independent School District schools Texas Southern University University-affiliated schools in the United States