Washington Elementary School Renaming

(This webpage will be continually updated with information about the 2021-22 Washington Elementary School Renaming Process.)

Renaming Update: December 17, 2021

Thank you to everyone who sent in suggestions for school names! There were 197 name submissions received during the November 16-Dec 3 nomination period, including one petition. Some of the names were suggested more than once - so all in all there were 74 different names that were suggested. There were many names with compelling stories and ideas.

The Advisory Committee reviewed and rated every name based on priorities that included “enduring, inspiring, reflecting our values, expanding representation among BUSD school names, speaking to racial justice issues, honoring educators, and/or connecting to our school history or Berkeley history.”

After reviewing the ratings of all names, the Advisory Committee met on December 13th to discuss in more depth the 17 names which scored highly enough to be discussed further, and agreed upon a diverse array of seven names that together represent many of the key criteria. These names will move forward to the next stage, which is curriculum development and community learning. In alphabetical order, the names selected are:

Frances Albrier - Berkeley civil rights leader, advocate for racial and gender equality

Herb Wong - Founder of BUSD Jazz Program and advocate for desegregation

James Baldwin - Author, advocate for racial equality, philosopher

Mable Howard - Berkeley activist, kept BART underground to preserve neighborhoods

Maya Angelou - Inspiring poet, writer and civil rights activist  

Yoshiko Uchida - Berkeley author, wrote children’s books about internment experience

Yuri Kochiyama - Civil Rights leader, known for work in Asian-Black solidarity

 

Next Steps:

Over the course of three weeks, beginning on January 17, classrooms and the school community will have an opportunity to learn about each of the seven names, at a pace of two to three names per week, with special slideshows on each name shared online and via newsletter.  

School community feedback will be gathered in February, and the Advisory Committee will review the feedback and provide a recommendation from the Superintendent, who will then bring the top name to the Board for their decision at the March 9 School Board meeting.

Thank you to all who so thoughtfully provided suggestions, including students, staff, families, and the wider community.  We hope you are looking forward to learning more about the seven names!

HISTORY OF BERKELEY SCHOOL NAMES

If you’re wondering about the names of other schools in Berkeley - when were they named or renamed, and for whom? - here is a list of our current K-12 BUSD school names. Some were named for places, and some were named (and then renamed) for people.

Place Names (Street, Neighborhood, City)

Cragmont, Oxford, Thousand Oaks, Berkeley Technology Academy, Berkeley High

Person Names (School Name - Named Since - Brief Description)

Ruth Acty - 2020 - Educator, writer, actor, first teacher of color in BUSD (Black, female, d. 1998)
  Name replaced Jefferson after Black Lives Matter resolution

Sylvia Mendez - 2016 - Civil rights, education, desegregation activist (Latina, female, b. 1936)
  Name replaced LeConte after school petition

Rosa Parks - 2000 - Civil rights activist (Black, female, d. 2005)
  Name replaced Columbus when school was rebuilt

Malcolm X - 1972 - Black nationalist and human rights activist (Black, male, assassinated 1965)
  Named in honor - replaced Lincoln (President, assassinated 1865)

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School - 1968 - Civil rights leader. (Black, male, assassinated 1968) 
  Named in honor - replaced Garfield (President, assassinated 1881)

John Muir - 1916 - Naturalist, environmentalist (White, male, d. 1914)

(Frances) Willard - 1916 - Educator, suffragist, temperance leader (White, female, d. 1898)

Washington - 1907 - Renaming in process

Emerson - 1907 - Writer, transcendentalist. Abolitionist writings, speeches. (White, male, d. 1882)

Longfellow - 1896 - Poet, educator, abolitionist. (White, male, d. 1882)

Whittier (Berkeley Arts Magnet) - 1892 & 2000 - Poet, Quaker, abolitionist. (White, male, d. 1892)
In 2000 became “Berkeley Arts Magnet at Whittier” - usually called B.A.M.

School Board Action to Discontinue the Name Washington

On June 10, 2020, the Berkeley School Board’s Resolution In Support of Black Lives Matter, included a commitment to change the names of Jefferson and Washington Schools, as they were named after slaveholders. In the case of George Washington, while he eventually freed many of the people he and his wife had held in bondage, owed his wealth to the enslaved labor of hundreds of human beings, signed the Fugitive Slave Act, and relentlessly pursued many enslaved people who attempted to escape. On June 23, 2020, a Virtual Town Hall was held at Washington to explain the renaming process.

On July 1, 2020, the Berkeley School Board officially voted to discontinue the names “Jefferson” and “Washington.” The Information item and board discussion and vote can be watched online beginning about minute 2:10:44 in the archived video. The presentation and documents are online as Board item 12.1.  

Jefferson Elementary was renamed first, in a process that took place from August to December 2020, following Board Policy 7310 for Facilities Naming and Renaming. The process, as described in the Jefferson Elementary renaming webpage, lead to the selection of a name honoring a distinguished educator, “Ruth Acty Elementary School.” 

Timeline for Process and Board Decision

A Naming Advisory Committee was formed at Washington School to work with the Superintendent and school community to solicit and review potential new names for the school. The Naming Advisory Committee (NAC) also supports the education and engagement process for discussing top names with the school community. The committee listens to feedback from the community and provides a recommendation to the Superintendent, who then brings forward a name to the School Board for their ultimate decision.

The Naming Advisory Committee, composed of current staff and parents at Washington began meeting in September 2021. The renaming process was also explained and discussed at a PTA meeting on September 23, and a Staff meeting on September 29.  The committee, staff and community felt that the original timeline, which proposed selecting a new name by December 2021, was too short, and at an Advisory Committee Meeting on October 25, 2021. The Superintendent agreed to extend the timeline to March 2022, in accordance with the board policy, which permits up to 6 months for the process. Following is the outline of next steps. Please return to this page for further updates and links as the process moves forward!

Steps Toward a New Name

  1. Priorities: First, the community is asked what is most important in choosing a new name. Should the name have some connection to Berkeley? Uplift unknown stories, especially of people of color? Be especially inspiring to children? Take the Naming Criteria survey in English, Spanish, Arabic, or Chinese (due November 10 - now closed)

  2. Name Suggestions (November 15-30): The School Name Suggestion Form is now closed. Suggestions were accepted through Dec. 3.

  3. Short List (December 13): The renaming advisory committee will look at all the names in light of the community priorities and come up with a short list of around six names by December 13. 

  4. Learning and Discussing (January 17-Feb 4): Students will learn about the 7 possible school names in January and discuss them in class. Families will also receive updates and information about names. 

  5. Community Opinions (February 7-18): Students, families, teachers, staff, and key affinity groups will provide input on the top choices in February.

  6. Decision (first Board meeting in March): The advisory committee will listen to all of the feedback and recommend a name or names to the Superintendent, so that he can make a formal recommendation to the school board.

  7. Celebrate! The new name should be chosen by March, and new signage will go up by the end of the school year. We look forward to celebrating the new name together!

As work progresses, links will be provided to:

  • Links to Learning Materials for Top 7 Names 

  • Feedback on Top 7 Names

  • Superintendent’s Recommendation to School Board

  • School Board Decision