Lanier High School (San Antonio)

Sidney Lanier High School is a local public high school of the San Antonio Independent School District in the westside of San Antonio, Texas (United States). Serving the San Antonio Independent School District, Lanier boasts an enrollment of more than 1700 students.HistorySidney Lanier High School first opened in 1915 as McKinley Elementary School. In 1923, McKinley was renamed after Sidney Lanier in accordance with the District's practice of naming the junior schools after American authors. Lanier became a junior-senior high school in 1929 until 1969 when Tafolla Middle School opened. The new Lanier Campus, on the site of the old school, opened in 1975. Currently, Sidney Lanier High School serves 9th through 12th grade students.The most tumultuous event occurred between the years 1967 and 1969 when a group of students changed the curricular structure of the school amid cries of vocational tracking and insufficient academic college preparation. Student leaders Homer Garcia, Edgar Lozano, Stephen Castro, Irene Yanez, and other participants challenged the authority of the school and staged a walkout that catapulted Sidney Lanier into the limelight and forced district to adapt changes. Student Council President Pablo Ortiz was appointed by school administrators after Homer Garcia was deemed too disruptive and radical. Later, school administrators finally bowed to student and community pressure conceding to demands. Even though a massive walkout was averted, some students did stage their own protest march leaving the campus during lunch. In the end, the legacy benefited students to the point that more scholarships were awarded and change became apparent. The 1969 graduate, Homer Garcia, ultimately became an unsung hero and forged alliances with other campus leaders. He went on to graduate from the University of Texas culminating in a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University.