Spring ISD announced plans to rename its Family and Community Engagement Center in honor of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
The Spring ISD Board unanimously approved the decision during its regular meeting last month. The center, located within Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which Jackson Lee represented for 29 years, will serve as a reminder of her legacy and commitment to education and community development.
The renaming comes after Jackson Lee’s passing in July, following her public battle with pancreatic cancer. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1995 and remained a powerful advocate for her district’s people, including northern parts of Houston, such as Spring ISD, until her death.
The Family and Community Engagement Center, located at 17125 Ella Boulevard, is home to numerous programs serving Spring ISD students and families. The center supports initiatives such as The VINE Mentoring Program and the Smart Start Early Learning program, which are aimed at fostering student success and family engagement within the district.
“Her unwavering commitment to our community was evident through her work in securing vital federal resources for our schools, advocating for equitable access to education, and supporting initiatives that uplifted our most vulnerable populations,” Spring ISD Board Secretary Kelly P. Hodges said in a statement. “Congresswoman Lee worked closely with local leaders, educators, and organizations to ensure that every child in our district had access to quality education and an opportunity to thrive.”
She wasn’t political in that sense. She genuinely cared.
Justine Durant, Spring ISD Board President
The decision to rename the Family and Community Engagement Center was met with unanimous support from all seven Spring ISD Board of Trustees, many of whom shared personal stories of Jackson Lee’s influence on the district. Dr. Deborah Jensen, who has served on the board for 14 years, spoke fondly of Jackson Lee’s commitment to celebrating student achievements. “In 14 years of being on the board, there has been one legislator who [continued] to come to our graduations to recognize our kids,” Jensen said. “And it’s Sheila Jackson Lee.”
Jackson Lee was instrumental in securing funding for several educational initiatives that benefited Spring ISD. Her work in Congress ensured that the district had access to the resources needed to develop programs that catered to students’ academic and social needs, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds.
“The impact and the commitment she’s given to her congressional district and Spring ISD specifically is phenomenal,” Spring ISD Board President Justine Durant told the Defender. She’s worked with Jackson Lee for 25 years, and they are both Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members. “I cannot think of a natural disaster or big event where she wasn’t front and center, ensuring that her constituents had exactly what they needed.”
Durant shared a particularly memorable story from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The congresswoman and Durant had set an ambitious goal to vaccinate 1,000 children within the district.
“Congresswoman Lee went to our elementary schools, attended PTA events, choir performances, and football games—whatever she needed to do to get the word out,” Durant recalled. One moment, in particular, stood out to her was when “There was a mother who came to be vaccinated but didn’t trust the process enough to vaccinate her four children. Sheila sat with her for over an hour, explaining everything and answering her questions. By the end, the mother agreed to vaccinate all her children.”
She was a constant presence at Spring ISD graduations, ensuring students from all the district’s high schools felt recognized and valued.
“She wasn’t political in that sense. She genuinely cared,” Durant said. “Some people would say she only wanted to be in the press, but that’s not true at all. Sheila was about action—she was about helping her people.”
