Ryan Middle School (Houston)

Ryan Middle School, now the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan

Ryan Middle School was a secondary school located in Houston, Texas, United States. The Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan now occupies the campus.

The school, which serves grades 6 through 8, is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It served much Third Ward area and a very small portion of Midtown Houston before its conversion into a magnet school. It is south of Downtown Houston,^[1] and in proximity to the University of Houston.^[2]

Cuney Homes and Ewing Apartments, two separate units of public housing, were previously zoned to Ryan before its conversion to a magnet school.

History

After Yates High School relocated from 2610 Elgin to 3703 Sampson in 1958, Ryan Colored Junior High School opened in Yates's former location. Ryan was named after Yates's second principal.^[3] Allan Turner of the Houston Chronicle said that the building served as an "educational anchor" for the Third Ward as many professionals in the Third Ward community such as educators, ministers, and lawyers received education in it. Since Ryan's beginning, Turner said that the school's fortunes had risen and fallen as time passed.^[4]

The school opened as a school only for African-Americans; it was desegregated by 1970.

A 2008 Houston Chronicle article stated that Ryan was considered to be among the lowest performing campuses in Houston ISD. HISD staff stated that the district needed signing bonuses in order to convince employees to take positions at Ryan Middle School.^[5] During that year, the principal was fired because he socially promoted 25 students and issued about $70,800 in paychecks not earned by employees.^[6]

From 2002 to 2012, the student population fell 70%, from 830 students to 265 students. A proposal to close Ryan Middle School was submitted to the HISD board. If Ryan closed at that time, its students would have been divided between Attucks, Cullen, Dowling, Lanier, and Pershing middle schools.^[7] Dallas Dance, the chief of middle schools of HISD, stated that Ryan had 570 middle school-aged students zoned to the campus, but fewer than half of those students chose to attend Ryan.^[8] Dance said that over the previous five-year period, HISD had already invested an additional $438,000 per year into Ryan.^[9]

Parents and community leaders protested the proposed closure.^[10] A group of parents threatened to occupy the campus if HISD had it closed temporarily.^[11] On Monday May 7, 2012 the board removed the proposed closure of Ryan from its agenda.^[12]

In its final year of operation, there were 182 students in the 6th and 7th grades at Ryan Middle School.^[13] In March 2013 the district board voted 5-3 to close Ryan. At the time it had 263 students and was the smallest middle school in HISD. Plans were to rezone the students to Cullen Middle School, 4 miles (6.4 km) from Ryan.^[14] The closure occurred even though the NAACP and members of the Third Ward community opposed the closure.^[15]

In April, 2013, Ryan Middle School reopened as the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan, a magnet middle school, with a rigorous curriculum founded on project-based, hands-on learning for students. Geared to prepare middle school students for the rigors of challenging high school academic programs, students have the opportunity to earn high school credits, and explore pathways in the fields of medicine, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, dentistry, pharmacy, and allied health professions. The school is intended to feed into the Michael E. DeBakey High School for the Health Professions.

For the 2013-2014 school year, 119 of the students who attended Ryan during the 6th or 7th grades during the 2012-2013 school year, or 65% of the total of the 2012-2013 6th and 7th grade students, started attending Cullen Middle School. The remaining students began attending other schools.^[13]

Neighborhoods served by the former Ryan Middle School

Several Third Ward area subdivisions, including University Oaks,^[16] Oak Manor, University Woods, Washington Terrace,^[17] and Riverside Terrace were previously zoned to Ryan Middle School.^[18][19] In addition, the old Ryan Middle School served a small portion of Midtown Houston (the portion south of U.S. Route 59) and a small portion of Neartown.^[20]

Cuney Homes and Ewing Apartments, units of public housing, were zoned to Ryan Middle School.

Project Row Houses were zoned to Ryan.

Residents of the Texas Medical Center's Laurence H. Favrot Tower Apartments were zoned to Ryan.

School uniforms

For portions of its history, the school required its students to wear uniforms.^[21]

Beginning in 2010 the former Ryan Middle School required male students to wear ties. Richard Connelly of the Houston Press stated that ties could be used as weapons in fights, since an assailant could grab his victim using his tie.^[22] As of 2012 the school still required male students to wear ties.^[23]

Student body

During the 2006-2007 school year, the school had 633 pupils^[24]

• 85% African American
• 14% Hispanic American
• Less than 1% European American
• Less than 1% Asian American
• Less than 1% Native Americans

About 80% of the students qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools fed into the former Ryan Middle School:^[19]

• Lockhart^[25]
• Turner^[26]

(partial)

• Blackshear,^[27]
• Dodson^[28]
• MacGregor^[29]
• Peck^[30]
• Poe^[31]
• Roberts^[32]

Three different high schools had zoning boundaries that partially coincide with the former Ryan Middle School boundary:

• Yates High School^[33]
• Lamar High School^[34]
• Bellaire High School^[35]

See also

• History of the African-Americans in Houston

References

External links

• Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan
• Ryan Middle School (Archive)
• Downing, Margaret. "Ryan MS Principal Says He Is Not Racist or Sexist or Anti-Gay No Matter What HISD Says." Houston Press. Friday February 4, 2011.
• Mellon, Ericka. "Principal reprimanded after he's accused of bigotry." Houston Chronicle. Thursday February 3, 2011.