School Naming and Renaming Processes

School Naming | School Renaming | What to Expect | Community Participation | Engagement Timelines

School Names effective Sept. 2019

 New School and Program Names
The Montessori Program at Henry   Montessori Public School of Arlington
The New Middle School   Dorothy Hamm Middle School
The Building at the Wilson Site (for H-B Woodlawn and Stratford Programs)   The Heights Building
Drew Elementary   Charles R. Drew Elementary School
The Stratford Program   Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program
Washington-Lee   Washington-Liberty

On June 7, 2018, the School Board adopted a revised policy for Naming of Facilities Policy which describes:

  • The criteria for naming facilities
  • How APS manages requests to Rename Schools/Facilities

The revised Policy Implementation Procedures (PIP) describes:

  • The membership of naming/renaming committees
  • The process for the committees

Feb 26, 2019 UPDATE: When APS School Names are Changing

Schools/Programs Involved in the Naming/Renaming Process

  SCR Staff Liaison & Principal Teams
The Montessori Program at Henry   Dulce Carrillo & Catharina Genove
The New Middle School   Daryl Johnson & Ellen Smith
The Building at the Wilson Site (for H-B Woodlawn and Stratford Programs)   Catharine Ashby & Casey Robinson/KarenGerry
Drew Elementary   Dulce Carrillo & Kimberley Graves
The Stratford Program   Dulce Carrillo & Karen Gerry
Washington-Lee   Linda Erdos & Gregg Robertson + Professional Facilitator

What to Expect Throughout the Naming and Renaming Processes

  • Meeting schedules will be posted on the Engage section of the APS website
  • Interested members of the community may attend meetings to listen
  • Each committee member will be charged with soliciting input from their corresponding school, neighborhood or community groups
  • Minutes of meetings will be posted on the Engage section of the APS website
  • Community input may be solicited via:
    • School or Civic group meetings
    • PTA meetings
    • Input/Surveys From: Students, Parents, Community
    • Engage with APS emails
    • Other input as received    

Participating in Community Engagement Strategies and Activities

Community engagement will be, in part, a responsibility of the committee members to solicit recommendations and input from their corresponding constituent groups.  Engagement may include:

  • Reach out to the member that is associated to your group to ask questions or share your ideas
  • Minutes from the committee meetings will be posted online
  • Ask a committee member to talk with your group or share the meeting summaries with your group
  • Participate when opportunities arise for the community provide feedback (through surveys or other opportunities
  • Share information on your organization’s listserve or email group
  • Use the Online Feedback Form on “Engage with APS” – select the initiative from the drop-down list to submit your comments and input (all comments will be shared with the full committee

Timeline for the Montessori Program, the New Middle School and the Building at the Wilson site (for the H-B Woodlawn and Stratford Programs)

DATE ACTIVITY

Pre-Engagement

August 2018
  • Provide PTAs, Civic Associations with overview of process and how to get involved
  • Publish schedule, contact info for each of the groups

School Community Engagement

Sept. – Dec. 2018
  • Members appointed to committees
  • Committees establish meeting schedule
  • Develop recommended name with input from the community

School Board Meeting Schedule

Aug.- Jan. 2019
  • Work Session – August 28, 2018
  • Appoint Naming Committee Members – Consent September 6, 2018
  • Information Item – December 6, 2018
  • Action – December 20, 2018 for the New Middle School
  • Action – January 10, 2019 for Montessori and New Building at Wilson

Timeline for the Drew Naming Process

DATE ACTIVITY

Pre-Engagement

Dec. 2018  Jan. 2019
  • Provide PTAs, Civic Associations with overview of process and how to get involved
  • Publish schedule, contact info for each of the groups

School Community Engagement

Jan. – Mar. 2019
  • Members appointed to committees
  • Committees establish meeting schedule
  • Develop recommended name with input from the community

School Board Meeting Schedule

Aug. 2018 – April 2019
  • Work Session – August 28, 2018
  • Appoint Naming Committee Members – Consent January 10, 2019 (after elementary boundary decision)
  • Information Item & Approval – March 28, 2019

Timeline for the Stratford Program Naming Process

DATE ACTIVITY

School Community Engagement

April – May 2019
  • Members appointed to committee
  • Committee establishes meeting schedule
  • Develop recommended name with input from the community

School Board Meeting Schedule

June 2019
  • Monitoring Item – June 6, 2019

Timeline for the Washington-Lee Renaming Process

DATE ACTIVITY

Pre-Engagement

August 2018
  • Provide PTAs, Civic Associations with overview of process and how to get involved
  • Accept online applications for committee membership (Aug 2 – 17)
  • Publish schedule, contact info for each of the groups

School Community Engagement

Sept. – Nov. 2018
  • Members appointed to committees (Sept 6)
  • Committees establish meeting schedule
  • Develop recommended name with input from the community

School Board Meeting Schedule

Aug. – Jan. 2019
  • Work Session – August 28, 2018
  • Appoint Naming Committee Members – Consent September 6, 2018
  • Information Item – December 20, 2018
  • Action – January 10, 2019