Trustees Name Middle School for Lady Bird Johnson

In a unanimous decision by the Irving ISD Board of Trustees, the district’s eighth middle school will be named in honor of former First Lady Claudia Alta (Lady Bird) Johnson.

A native of Karnack, Texas, Johnson acquired her nickname while an infant when her nurse commented that she was as “pretty as a ladybird.”  As a youth, she developed a life-long love of the environment, spending much of her time outdoors in her native East Texas. After graduating with two bachelor degrees from University of Texas at Austin, she married Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Congressional aide and they had two daughters, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines. Johnson was a full partner in the political career of her husband, and was also president of a media company consisting of several television and radio stations. Her $41,000 investment blossomed into a more than $150 million business. In 1963, Lyndon Johnson became President of the United States, and Johnson became the first native Texan to become first lady. As first lady, she began a beautification campaign for Washington D.C. and America’s highways, stating “where flowers bloom, so does hope.” She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and has many parks, lakes and schools named after her across the country. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin continues her work in conservation, environmentalism, and beautification of our country. Johnson died in 2007 and is buried on her beloved LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, Texas.

Throughout her lifetime, Johnson served as a philanthropist, entrepreneur, conservationist and champion of education. Students at Davis Elementary School who potentially live in the attendance zone to be drawn were surveyed to determine their preference for naming the new school, as well as choosing the school colors and mascot. After also conducting their own research, Davis students overwhelmingly chose Lady Bird Johnson as the public figure to honor. They selected the eagle mascot with green and blue for school colors.

Lady Bird Johnson Middle School will be designed with an environmentally-focused, net-zero concept. Through efficiency technologies and on-site power generation, the use of renewable energies allows the building to produce as much energy as it consumes from the electric grid. Students will learn through practical, hands-on experiences. Issues such as geothermal science, rainwater collection, solar panel usage, and wind turbine efficiency will help students learn responsibility for energy and environmental conservation.

 
Architect's Rendering of Lady Bird Johnson Middle School
(Click thumbnail above for full-sized image.)