Fort Bend ISD Names Elementary 51 in Honor of Nobel Peace Prize Recipient

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During a Board Meeting on December 17, the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees voted to name the District’s 51st elementary school Malala Yousafzai Elementary School. The school is named in honor of Malala Yousafzai, an international advocate for education and the youngest person to be named a Nobel Prize laureate. The name was chosen following a process that included submissions from the community.

Earlier this fall, the District asked the FBISD community to submit nominations for the new facility, and then established a committee to select the name. More than 100 names were submitted for consideration, and the committee was comprised of District teachers, parents and students, community members, staff and a Board member.

At just 15, Yousafzai survived an attack by the Taliban while traveling home from school, and the next year, she delivered a speech to the United Nations, urging world leaders to make education a priority.

Board Policy CW (Local) provides guidelines that govern the naming process, stating that the namesake, living or deceased, should have made a significant contribution to society, and the name should lend prestige and status to an institute of learning.

“Fort Bend ISD is proud to name Malala Yousafzai Elementary in honor of a true advocate for education. Our FBISD Profile of a Graduate outlines the skills and attributes graduates should possess upon graduation from our schools. Through her compassion for others and servant leadership, Yousafzai is an embodiment of these characteristics, which we are trying to instill in our students. We look forward to hearing of the many successes of the school and its students in the future,” said Dr. Charles Dupre, FBISD Superintendent of Schools.

Malala Yousafzai Elementary is scheduled to open in January of 2020, and FBISD is currently in the process of establishing attendance boundaries for the new school. Lisa Langston, an experienced leader in education in FBISD, will serve as the principal after previously serving in that role at Oyster Creek Elementary. The school is currently under construction in the northwest area of the District, in the Aliana community.