BOE Votes to Rename Lee MS as Odessa Shannon Middle School
Gboyinde Onijala
Posted On November 13, 2020
At its Nov. 10 business meeting, the Board of Education voted to rename Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle School as Odessa Shannon Middle School.
In 2018, the Board awarded Shannon a Distinguished Service Award for Public Education. She worked tirelessly for more than 40 years on behalf of students, especially students of color, to receive equal educational opportunities. She began her public career as a teacher in Baltimore public schools. Later, she worked for the federal government and became the national program director for the Equal Opportunity Commission. She also served as deputy director of the Montgomery County Department of Family Resources and executive director of the Montgomery County Human Rights Commission.
She was elected to the Board in 1982. Although she resigned from the Board in 1984, she continued to be involved in public education and MCPS. She has received numerous awards, including the NAACP (Washington Committee) Legal Defense and Educational Award for Exceptional Achievement in Advancing the Rights of Minorities and Women, and Maryland’s Hornbook Award for Outstanding Service to Education.
