Beloved Houston icon and Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is known for a lot of things, and now that includes education.
On Wednesday, Mack announced the opening of three new schools serving the north side.
He says unity and community were the driving forces behind the decision to open a trade school, a charter school, and a day care center.
“The average income in a six-mile area of this store is $26,000, so we want to have a trade school and a charter school here to help the people on the north side move up in life, and learn, not only hard skills like welding, construction, plumbing and wood working, but also life skills like financial management,” Mack said.
The Gallery Furniture location at 6006 North Freeway will be the site of the schools.
Mack explained that people from ages 16 to 30 who didn’t finish high school can attend the charter school to earn their degree. It’s set to open next fall.
The day care center will be for those who attend the school, as well as employees.
Mack says the ultimate goal is to make people more skilled, so they can get better jobs and a better life.
