FORT BEND ISD (May 21, 2025) – Fort Bend ISD’s Board of Trustees approved the name of the district’s 16th middle school in honor of Amy Coleman, the district’s first Black female principal.
Amy Coleman dedicated nearly 33 years to the field of education, serving as a first-grade teacher at Blue Ridge Elementary and later as assistant principal and principal at Briargate Elementary.
“First and foremost, she loved God,” said Dr. Krista Coleman, daughter of the school’s namesake. “She had a huge faith, she loved her family and she loved the Fort Bend ISD community.”
Dr. Coleman, a second-grade teacher at Heritage Rose Elementary, remembers her mother as a lifelong learner and avid reader who was passionate about education.
“She gave me a set of encyclopedias for my ninth birthday,” she recalled.
Nearing the 20th anniversary of her mother’s death, Dr. Coleman is excited that her mother’s legacy will live on through the school.
Amy Coleman was the first in her family to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. She received several honors in education, including the MKO Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Excellence Award.
She was also civically engaged, serving with the NAACP Missouri City chapter, Friends of the Missouri City Library, the National Society for Black Educators, and as a founding board member of the Southwest Educational Project—a local nonprofit that took students to tour historically Black colleges and universities across the country for more than a decade.
About the Naming Process
In accordance with FBISD Board Policy CW (LOCAL), a naming committee was formed to select a name for FBISD’s 16th middle school, scheduled to open in August 2026.
Committee members included FBISD Board Members, principals, parents, teachers, students and local community representatives.
The community submitted nearly 1,200 name nominations through an online form.
The committee evaluated nominations based on the criteria in Board Policy CW (LOCAL), which emphasizes selecting a namesake who made a significant societal contribution, brings prestige to the school and has achieved prominence in fields such as education, science, the arts, public service and/or Texas history.
The committee was also encouraged to consider a name that unifies the community.
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Photo captions:
Amy Coleman was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the campus’ Black History Program at Blue Ridge Elementary in 1970 where she taught first grade at the time.
Briargate Assistant Principal Amy Coleman sits beside her second-grade daughter, Dr. Krista Coleman, at a Thanksgiving dinner at Briargate Elementary in 1979.
