Lee College, for the rest of us

A community college that most of Baytown thinks of as "the campus by downtown" — and uses far more than it realizes. Here's what's there if you're not enrolled.

The Performing Arts Center. The best stage in the county east of Houston: touring acts, film nights on the big screen for five dollars, the holiday show, student productions that punch above their weight. Tickets are cheap by any standard and the parking is free. The season is on the calendar with every date; the office hours for the box office are on the page.

Dual credit and the high schools. Goose Creek and Barbers Hill students take college classes here for credit while still in high school. If you have a fourteen-year-old, this is the conversation to have with the counselor now, not at seventeen. The pathways — process technology, nursing, welding, instrumentation — are the plants' pipeline, and a two-year credential here pays better than a lot of four-year degrees.

Continuing education. The catalog that nobody reads: welding for hobbyists, Spanish, photography, the boating-safety course, computer classes for people who'd rather not ask their kids. Cheap, evenings, no admission process.

Kids' programs. Summer camps on campus — STEM, arts, sports — that fill early. Registration windows are on the youth page and the calendar. The campus library is open to the community with a card.

Sports. The Navigators play in the gym: men's basketball and women's volleyball. Free or nearly, schedules at gonavigators.com and on the calendar, and a good cheap night with a kid who likes a crowd.

Book and Beans. The campus café, when it's open to the public; the quiet table downtown doesn't otherwise have. The page says whether it is this semester.

The turnaround connection. A good share of the crews on any turnaround came through Lee's process-tech or craft programs, and the safety training a lot of contractors require is run here or nearby. If you came for a job and want to stay for a career, this is the building.

En español. Lee College es el colegio comunitario de Baytown, junto al centro: el Performing Arts Center con la mejor programación de la zona, crédito dual para estudiantes de preparatoria, carreras técnicas para las plantas (proceso, soldadura, instrumentación, enfermería), educación continua por las noches, campamentos de verano para niños, y deportes gratis.