Impact Leadership Academy Unveils Mascot

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About Impact Leadership Academy

Impact Leadership Academy builds on Aldine ISD’s strategic plan, A New Way Forward, to give all district students access to high-quality schools and educational experiences that prepare them for school, college, career, and life. The academy is an all-boys school that opened in the fall of 2022. Impact Leadership Academy is a partnership between Aldine ISD and Prairie View A&M University.

Impact Leadership Academy at Wilson will serve Grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 in the 2023-2024 school year. The campus will eventually serve boys in Grades 1-8.

Impact Leadership Academy at Wilson was born from the district’s dedication to student achievement and the belief that every Aldine student deserves to learn in a school where they feel welcomed and safe and will graduate with choices and opportunities. AISD began diving deeper through its Black Student Outcomes initiative and identified a significant gap in its focus on black and brown male students over time. The program focuses on entrepreneurship and leadership. The male students are instilled with self-awareness, purpose, and an expanded view of the world.

“Creating the pipeline of young leaders at Impact Leadership means they will take those qualities and teachings beyond this campus and into our other schools. Our students will be guided by the leadership qualities instilled at such a young age,” said Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney. “Impact Leadership Academy represents the promise that we have made, which is to provide choices and opportunities so that when our students cross that stage as Aldine graduates, they go on to have successful careers and futures. And now Impact Leadership Academy has a mascot that embodies the school spirit.”

Winning Mascot Idea

In spring 2023, Impact Leadership Academy held a student competition to create a mascot that would encompass its students’ strengths, leadership, and legacy, with the winning idea coming from student Jaime Medina.

Jaime created a drawing inspired by the slang GOAT acronym — the Greatest Of All Time.

The acronym GOAT often praises exceptional athletes, musicians, and other public figures. The term GOAT can be attributed to the original GOAT himself: Muhammad Ali. In his time, the boxer was popularly nicknamed “The Greatest,” which his wife then turned into GOAT for publicity in the 1990s.

The district’s Office of Communications took Jaime’s inspiration to turn it into a professional-looking mascot. The mascot adheres to Aldine ISD brand standards as the mascot repeats school colors and includes the gear symbol from the school’s logo.

The mascot’s pose with its flexed right arm is pulled directly from one of the most iconic photos of Ali after a victorious bout in the ring. The feeling depicted within the photo is what district and campus leaders want our students to feel after facing a great challenge: triumph, success, and pride. They should feel like GOATs.

The design elements lend the mascot a distinctive, modern boldness.

Learn More about Impact Leadership Academy

Principal Jonathan Kegler shared that the academy’s values include developing an identity-rich culture with academic pathways that leverage students’ bilingualism and multiculturalism. The goal is for students to successfully transition to high school and post-secondary opportunities as college and career-ready individuals.

Click here to listen to the All the Things: The Aldine ISD Podcast episode from 2022, where Kegler talks about Impact Leadership Academy.