About Buice
Mission Statement
The mission of Dr. Lee Buice Elementary School is to excite and inspire curiosity through literacy and innovative learning experiences.
Vision
The vision of Dr. Lee Buice Elementary School is to create a community of unlimited opportunities for all.
Core Beliefs
Our core beliefs are to: innovate, collaborate, and celebrate.
We believe every child can learn. We care for one another and value each other's opinions. In our classrooms, students mirror the work of readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and social scientists. We believe in celebrating our story and sharing our successes.
Our Namesake-Dr. Lee Buice
Dr. Buice took a long route to Odessa – she was born in Cardiff, Wales, in the United Kingdom in 1932 – and spent her early years in the UK and France before coming to the United States with her family. She attended school in Boston, Denver, and Bakersfield, California before graduating from high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
She earned two baccalaureate degrees from Texas Woman’s University, a master’s from the University of North Texas, and a Ph.D. with honors from the University of Southern California. She did post-doctoral work in Pennsylvania and New York City.
She majored in theater and speech communications and after two years of teaching high school in other locales she launched a successful career at Odessa High School, where she directed the drama and speech program that earned many state titles. One of this committee’s members, Trudy Lewis, can vouch for that, she says “I remember her OHS teams well because I was at Permian and her teams beat us all the time.”
In 1963 she joined the faculty at Odessa College, in 1975 she became Assistant to the President at OC, and then in 1986 she was named Dean of Human Services & Communications where she remained until she retired in 1994. Even then she continued to teach at UTPB.
She was a member of the Ector County ISD Board of Trustees and a founding member of the Odessa Education Foundation. She served as president of both boards.
Upon her death in January 2009 Dr. Buice’s family suggested, rather than flowers, memorials be sent to the Education Foundation, among other charities.
We are honored to have our school named after such a remarkable woman!