PVAMU President Displays Artwork From Impact Leadership Academy

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The all-boys campus is a distinctive partnership between Aldine ISD and Prairie View A&M University.

Prairie View A&M University President Dr. Tomikia P. LeGrande poses with the gift from Impact Leadership Academy.

Impact Leadership Academy History With PVAMU

The Impact Leadership Academy at Wilson, a one-of-a-kind all-boys campus that began operations in the fall of 2022, is a distinctive partnership between Aldine ISD and Prairie View A&M University. At the 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony, Aldine ISD Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney expressed her gratitude to Prairie View officials for their steadfast commitment to bringing the Impact Leadership Academy to life.

At that time, the then Prairie View A&M President, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, played a pivotal role in advocating for establishing an all-boys school. She urged Dr. Goffney and Aldine to expedite the process and start teaching leadership skills as soon as possible.

Impact Leadership Academy, an AISD Choice School campus, is fostering cultural identity, community, and leadership from first grade. The academy aims to cultivate young leaders who will carry these qualities beyond the campus and into other schools. The academy was created to provide a safe and welcoming environment for Aldine ISD students, focusing on entrepreneurship and leadership. The program aims to instill self-awareness, purpose, and an expanded worldview in male students.

Dr. Michael McFrazier, Dean of the Whitlow R. Green College of Education at Prairie View A&M, praised Aldine’s all-boys school for its commitment to empowering diverse male students. He emphasized the school’s identity, leadership, community, and activism mission, aligning with PVAMU’s strategic goal of investing in programs addressing diverse population issues in Texas and beyond.

A Gift for the New PVAMU President

Dr. Tomikia P. LeGrande took the helm of Prairie View A&M University as president in August 2023. LeGrande succeeded the outgoing president, Dr. Ruth Simmons.

Art teacher Toby McCraw and Principal Kegler began researching the incoming PVAMU president at the beginning of the school year. They found that LeGrande views leadership as a catalyst for enabling students from underserved and underrepresented communities to have a transformative experience. McCraw and the students hoped that she would enjoy it, be inspired by the golden accents, and most importantly, allow the universe to work through her to transform all under her leadership, including Aldine ISD’s Impact Leadership Academy,” said Toby McCraw.

Earlier this month, Principal Kegler delivered the artwork that students and McCraw had created. The artwork is comprised of five pieces that are combined like a puzzle. Each piece, in purple and gold colors, has different icons significant to PVAMU, education, and Impact Leadership Academy. The centerpiece holds an image of LeGrande.

LaGrande thanked everyone by posting images of herself with the gift from Impact Leadership Academy. She can be seen sitting next to the “Amazing artwork created by future PV Panthers from Impact Leadership Academy! Thank you so much!”

It sounds like the students and McCraw hit the mark.

“Prairie View A&M University says CHANGEMAKERS are bred here, PIONEERS emerge here, and EXCELLENCE lives here (PVAMU)! Through the partnership, Impact Leadership Academy does what it can to extend the ideas started at PVAMU to the stakeholders affiliated with Impact Leadership Academy,” said Kegler. “The embodiment of CHANGEMAKERS, PIONEERS, and EXCELLENCE can be described simply as The Impact Way!

“We are constantly challenging our students, staff, and stakeholders to put their best foot forward to achieve greatness in all they do,” said Kegler. “The Impact Way was once a dream that we were chasing. We have caught, embraced, and are living it now!”