DISD Trustee Ed Turner names Career Institute East for his late childhood friend, Adelio Williams

Career Institute East will be renamed after a beloved South Dallas plumber who died in 2021 — Adelio Williams.

At a DISD board meeting on March 20, eight of the nine board members approved the name change. Eleven of Adelio Williams’ family and friends were in attendance, and their applause and tears echoed in the meeting room after the final vote was announced. 

Only District 6 Trustee Joyce Foreman abstained from voting.

“We have an issue with our naming policy that needs to be addressed,” Foreman said during the discussion before the vote. “We need to have real community meetings; they should have a say and feel a part of the opportunities to voice their opinions.”

Dallas ISD District 9 Trustee Ed Turner was a childhood friend of Williams’ and emphasized his strong community presence in South Dallas, where Turner and Williams grew up and which Turner now represents. Turner additionally pointed out that Career Institute East, as an academic facility that trains students for high-demand careers, aligned with William’s career.

Previous Dallas Free Press reporting noted that DISD bond package voters approved in 2020 included hundreds of millions of dollars to build four new career institutes. Career Institute East opened in South Dallas’ Lincoln Instructional Center in fall 2020, and serves students in the Lincoln attendance zone as well as students bussed from Bryan Adams, Woodrow Wilson, Madison and Samuell high schools.

The institutes’ purpose is to provide students with specialized training and career programs through courses, projects and hands-on experiences. Students who attend the institutes can earn industry certifications, complete internships, and gain skills for high-demand careers with a living wage after graduation. 

At a Feb. 3 community meeting at Lincoln High School, where Career Institute East currently resides, Turner invited community members and Williams’ family members to talk about why he was recommending the name change.

“To be completely transparent with you, I’m asking for it to be renamed because as a trustee I can do that, and I want to honor Adelio and what he did for this community,” Turner said when a community member asked why it would be renamed for Williams.

Residents in attendance at the Feb. 3 meeting voiced their confusion on the process for name changes and what factors go into deciding who the name change is made after. Relatives of Williams said they would provide details of specific things he did in South Dallas and include people whom he inspired.

The Dallas ISD naming policy gives trustees the power to name district schools and facilities, but they have to first host a community meeting to let residents know and gather their input as well as submit a three-paragraph statement that includes:

• Biographical data
• The significant contribution
• An impact statement explaining why a facility, school or portion thereof should be named after the person

As a result of Thursday night’s vote, the logos and banners for Career Institute East will be modified to add Adelio Williams’ name. Turner emphasized at the Feb. 3 meeting that wherever the Career Institute is housed, his name would follow it.

This reassured concerned attendees at the Feb. 3 community meeting that the name of the historically designated Lincoln High School or its Dr. Napoleon B. Lewis buildings would not be affected by the name change. 

Turner also informed residents at the Feb. 3 meeting that the original Billy Earl Dade Elementary School would be demolished as soon as April. DISD closed the South Dallas campus in 2013 when it opened the new Billy Earl Dade Middle School, caddy corner from the historic Black school.

“While the Career Institute is there, and if the name receives approval from the board, it will be the Adelio Williams Career Institute,” Turner explained at the community meeting. “Once we move out of the building [Lincoln Instructional Center], and another school comes into the facility, then the name of that school will take its place. The names of the school come and go with them.”

Prior to the demolition of the old Billy Earl Dade campus, a community meeting with surrounding neighborhood associations — Park Row/South Boulevard and Fair Park Estates — will be held to discuss potential ideas for how they want the future campus to look. The meeting will be held to ensure that input from surrounding residents is taken into consideration to decide the design of the new building, Turner says.

A Career Institute East bond meeting held on March 17 mentioned the start of construction for the new Career Institute East campus on the old Earl Dade site would begin in the second quarter of 2026.

Eight new programs will be offered in the new Career Institute building:

• Architecture 
• Automotive
• Aviation
• Dental assistant
• EMT 
• Game design & software development 
• Mechatronics and manufacturing 
• Welding

The move from Lincoln High School is due to the building’s architectural protections from its City of Dallas historic landmark designation, and the challenge of retrofitting a career institute into the existing structure. To accommodate the eight programs, totaling 16 courses, the old Dade building will be demolished to make way for a new building.