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K-12 Dive
4 considerations for districts weighing school name changes
Schools named for Confederate leaders and other controversial figures
are facing greater scrutiny and pressure to change. Administrators
shared best practices and lessons learned in their communities.
Katie Navarra
March 2, 2021
On July 1, 2021, two schools in Virginia’s Alexandria City Public
Schools will have new names. The suburban district of 16,000 students
is among a growing number receiving petitions and resolutions calling
for the renaming of buildings named for Confederate leaders or
otherwise controversial figures.
Since 2014, the names of more than 30 schools have undergone name
changes across the United States. The Equal Justice Initiative has
identified 240 schools in 17 states named for Confederate leaders. The
San Francisco Unified School District is one of the most recent to take
similar action, with its board voting in January to rename 44 schools.
Alexandria and San Francisco had widespread community support but not
all proposals are readily embraced. The Houston Independent School
District received backlash after deciding to rename seven schools —
four high schools and three middle schools. In Palo Alto, Texas it took
17 months of intense public debate before the school board approved
renaming two schools.
To get a better sense of what other districts should take into
consideration when weighing these decisions, we asked school
leaders involved in renaming efforts to share their insights into best
practices and lessons learned.
Establish a process
Natasha Beery, director of the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program and
community relations at Berkeley Unified School District in California,
has been involved in two renaming efforts. The first was in 2018, when
the former LeConte Elementary School — named for Joseph LeConte, a
renowned conservationist who helped found the Sierra Club but also
owned slaves and promoted White supremacist ideas — was renamed for
desegregationist Sylvia Mendez.
“It’s important to be clear on agreeing to rename a school,” she said.
“There was an effort about 10 years earlier, and the board vote was
split. It was devastating and hard on the community as a whole when it
ended in a failed attempt.”
The second renaming came forward as a board resolution presented last
year amid the pandemic. The successful proposal to change the name of
Jefferson Elementary School in honor of Ruth Acty, the first Black
teacher employed by the district, followed a detailed board policy and
procedure.
ACPS Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings Jr. agrees being methodical
creates more opportunities to create a positive community response.
“The process takes you out of all the distractions,” he said. “Having
that gave us a roadmap to the finish line, because we always referenced
the process when the board talked about it, when there was a public
comment and the board had to make decisions.”
Allow students to lead
In Alexandria, Virginia, a community petition prompted name changes.
However, once the request was received, Hutchings turned to the
students.
“Sometimes we have to step aside and allow our young people to
lead. Our students are the ones experiencing the negative feelings
based on those names, and we wanted to hear from them,” he said. “We
even had students of color tell us about how they weren’t treated the
same in AP classes and didn’t feel welcome in schools with certain
names.”
Students were the first to suggest new names. A poster essay contest
allowed them to present a name and the reasons for choosing it. The
district received 119 submissions, and the community then had an
opportunity to offer suggestions. Recommendations ranged from the City
of Alexandria School and Titans Community High School to renaming in
honor of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the Supreme Court justice who died last
year.
A public hearing on name change recommendations is set for March 18, with a final board vote scheduled for April 8.
“It was really exciting to see why people thought a name was of
interest,” Hutchings said. “From this whole process I got to know some
new people and others I didn’t know about. That includes learning about
a former employee of the school who was nominated because of their
contributions.”
Seek community input — again and again
Community members often have an emotional investment in schools and
develop an identity around them. Even when you think you’ve asked for
input, Kenny Rodrequez, superintendent of Missouri’s Grandview C-4
School District, said it’s important to ask again.
During his time as an administrator in a previous position in
Oklahoma’s Tulsa Public Schools, leaders in the district decided middle
school names would change to match corresponding high schools as part
of a school closure/consolidation plan. For example, Nimitz Middle
School became Memorial Junior High School to match Memorial High School.
“None of the changes were immediately accepted. To certain members of
the community, none of them were considered small,” Rodrequez said. “We
underestimate at times the power and connection community members have
to their community schools.”
The renaming was a significant undertaking that included three
committees made up of multiple stakeholders from all across the city.
Each committee received guidelines and information for their individual
proposals. Then, a group worked through the proposals to determine the
best scenario.
The public was allowed to provide input on each draft; at least four were created before the final plan was approved.
“It is not possible to get too much input from the community,”
Rodrequez said. “Even when you think you have communicated your plans
enough, ask for more input.”
Seize the opportunity to educate
The renaming process is also an opportunity for schools to do what they
do best — educate. In Berkeley, the process involved understanding what
is in a name.
“We talked about how to come to an agreement on what made a good name
and why there is a reason to name a school instead of something like PS
114 like in New York City,” Beery said. “At the first committee
meeting, each person had to introduce themselves, where their name came
from, and what it means to them. Some said they were named after a
grandparent, a famous figure or that their family’s name was changed at
Ellis Island. Thinking about the characteristic of a name is a great
way to start.”
When the list of potential names was narrowed to nine, educational
materials were created and distributed via curriculum and communication
to the community.
For example, one suggestion was Ohlone tribe in recognition of the
local Native American tribe. Another was an influential
Chinese-American family. The committee created age-appropriate
materials when needed and used existing books like those about Sylvia
Mendez. It took three weeks to share information about each of the top
names.
Hutchings, too, viewed the renaming as an opportunity to teach.
Students, staff and community members in Alexandria attended
information sessions explaining who T.C. Williams and Matthew Maury
were, and why replacing their names was needed. By the time the school
board voted to change the name, there was no resistance. People
understood the need to change the names and the impact on students.
“I’m glad we slowed things down a bit and didn’t react so quickly,”
Hutchings said. “When we sent a survey around, 75% of the community
felt they were better educated and had a better understanding of two
people to support the name change. That helped us get the results, too.”
Read this and other stories at K-12 Dive
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