TEA Commissioner Robert Scott said to close it, but the parents, teachers, and students of Pearce Middle School rallied around their beloved neighborhood school. Sure, there were leaders, including Austin Independent School District trustee Cheryl Bradley, Michael Lofton of the African American Men and Boys Conference, and Allen Weeks of the St. John Neighborhood Association, but it took an entire community getting behind the repurposing plan to build the momentum that kept the doors from shuttering. Like their motto says, "Success is the only option!"
