The Austin ISD board of trustees voted to rename Pearce Middle School, the district's new Young Women's Leadership Academy, for Bertha Sadler Means starting with the 2014–15 school year.
"I could go on and on and name the number of things that she did with civil rights right here in this city," said AISD trustee Cheryl Bradley.
Among her achievements, Means was a teacher, a founding member of St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, and was an active member of the Austin branch of the NAACP.
The board approved the renaming 7–1, with trustee Robert Schneider opposing. Trustee Vincent Torres was absent from the meeting. The Austin ISD board of trustees considered a variety of names submitted by members of the AISD community. During citizens communication, a few attendees asked the board to consider naming the school for Liz Carpenter, who was an activist, author and journalist known for serving as press secretary in the White House to President Lyndon B. Johnson.
