A Voice for Education and for All Children

"Everything Nellie Reddix does has a way of improving the lives of others."

......When Nellie M. Reddix came to Northside ISD with her family, she became a model parent, volunteering to help the PTA at her children's school. She moved through the ranks of the Parent Teacher Association leadership to the president of the PTA Council in 1974, and became the first black woman and the second woman in history to serve on the Northside Board of Trustees, serving with distinction until 1985.

......After the Reddix children graduated with honors from Holmes High School and pursued higher education degrees, as well as meritorious careers, Nellie Reddix earned a degree in Business Administration with a specialty in management from Our Lady of the Lake University. She served as the the Coordinator of Assessment for OLLU.

......Nellie M. Reddix and her husband, Dr. Mason Reddix, a retired surgeon, are proud of their Northside educated children. Elizabeth R. Okafo teaches English-as-a-Foreign Language at OLLU. She earned her master's degree from Indiana University and from Michigan State University. Mason Reddix, Jr. (Chuck), who was the first black Brigade Commander at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, earned a master's degree in engineering and is employed by the South Texas Nuclear Project. Bruce Reddix, MD, graduated from Harvard University and the University of Texas School of Medicine (Dallas). He is a pediatrician with a neonatology practice in Denver, Colorado. The Reddix's are also proud of their seven grandchildren: Azuka, Adorah, Nkechinyere, Mason III, Megan, Allison, and Joey AND their seven great grandchildren

......During her eleven years of service on the Northside Board of Trustees, Mrs. Reddix was a driving force in the push for instructional excellence. Programs which are deemed essential today did not exist until she began asking "Why not?" Mrs. Reddix worked to provide reading specialists, music and art teachers at elementary schools, and greater opportunities for girls in athletics. She also supported tax exemptions for senior citizens and saw to the reversal of a federal busing directive in 1975 by ensuring 'equal education opportunity'.
......An advocate for strong parental involvement, Mrs. Reddix supported the Right to Read program and worked to relocate Mackey special education programs from the Hunt Lane facility to the Leon Valley campus.

......With the construction of the Nellie M. Reddix Center, Northside ISD is in the forefront of education improvement for students with special needs. A state-of-the-art facility, the Reddix Center is home to innovative special education programs serving students from Northside and the metroplex. The professional people employed at the Reddix Center have their true inspiration, Trustee Nellie M. Reddix, whose high expectations "just made good sense to do."