Dallas ISD early college namesake, Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. passed away Monday, July 8, at his home in Dallas. Lassiter, 80, was a former president of El Centro College, chancellor of Dallas County Community College, and a longtime area minister and educator.
A staunch supporter of higher education for inner city and minority students, Lassiter was instrumental in building early support for the creation of early college high schools in Dallas ISD. One of his lasting legacies is his role in founding Middle College High School at El Centro College in 1988. In recognition of his support, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees in 2014 named the school the Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Early College High School.
Lassiter Early College, which graduated some of the district’s first students to simultaneously receive high school diplomas and associate degrees, was a forerunner of the more than 25 collegiate academies currently serving district students, many of whom are the first in their families to receive college diplomas.
