The building formerly known as Mill Street Elementary will now don the name of the first African American member of the Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees.
LISD approved naming the building the Vernell Gregg Early Childhood Center at the district’s regular board meeting Monday evening.
at the conclusion of the LISD Board of Trustees meeting.
(Photo courtesy of Jacqueline L. Shaw)
The name change was greeted with support from County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, Denton County Democratic Party Chair Delia Parker-Mims, Lewisville City Council members Ronni Cade and Lonnie Tipton and activist Jacqueline L. Shaw, among many others.
“[Gregg] not only worked to make the school district better, she took care of the community,” said Mitchell. “Some students in the Lewisville community didn’t have food to eat, clothes to wear or a way to get an education – Mrs. Gregg made sure that was done.”
In a letter addressed to the board, but read by Shaw, Nelson said she was honored to support the naming of the new building after Gregg.
“Mrs. Gregg is the gold standard for educators and public servants,” she said. “She inspires our community, leads by example and continues to be a respectable force for positive influence.”
Throughout her 39 years of teaching, Gregg spent 25 of them with LISD.
While with the district, she started the innovative Annual MLK Day Art Contests at Degan Elementary, which is now in its 33rd year. She also helped develop LISD’s Advanced Via Individual Determination program, also known as AVID, which is now available at many campuses throughout the district.
Gregg also helped establish LISD’s first elementary student council at Degan Elementary, LISD’s first accelerated reader program, a multicultural club, a remedial reading program and a career day at DeLay Middle School… and she had a hand in the district’s arts programs and the Lewisville Lake Symphony.
Despite her already long list of accomplishments and accolades, Gregg is still active in the district.
“I hear a lot of people talk about Mrs. Gregg in past tense, but she is still very active,” said board member Paige Dixon. “She is still here and she still gives her mentorship, love and advice. Some people do things to be noticed – that’s not Mrs. Gregg. She genuinely cares about students and their success.”
In 2025, a calming room was named after Gregg at Degan Elementary, but calls for an elementary school with her name on it have been wanted as early as 2020.
Gregg had numerous professional affiliations such as the Alumni of Texas Association of School Boards and serving as the past president of the Lewisville Education Association. Heavily involved in her community, she was a member of the Macedonia Ministries Scholarship Committee and a life member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the National Council of Negro Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), among others.
Gregg has received numerous honors that include Teacher of the Year in El Paso and Lewisville, Honorary PTA life member and in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. In 2008, the Marcus High School Black History Club named its annual scholarship The Vernell Gregg Scholarship. Gregg was the recipient of a President’s Volunteer Service Award and a letter of appreciation signed by former President Barack Obama. One of her latest awards was getting the Inspire Award from the HighArt Foundation (HAF) on Aug. 24, 2025.
“I can’t think of an educator who is more deserving of receiving such an honor,” said activist Jacqueline L. Shaw. “Now, future LISD students won’t forget her name or her extraordinary accomplishments.”
The name change comes after the district decided to repurpose the campus. Due to multiple failing grades in the Texas Education Agency’s accountability ratings, students from the campus were reassigned.
Lewisville ISD announced the early childhood center’s first principal in April.
