Washington-Lee Renaming Process

Update: On January 10, 2019, the School Board voted unanimously to change the name to Washington-Liberty High School.

• The current name of the school will be Washington-Lee through the end of the 2018-19 school year. Students graduating in June 2019 will receive their diplomas from “Washington-Lee High School.”
• Signage for the building, website and other materials will be changed over the summer.
• The new name – Washington-Liberty High School – will go into effect at the start of the 2019-20 school year.

On June 7, 2018, the School Board adopted a revised policy for Naming of Facilities (F-6.1). The policy describes how APS manages Requests to Rename Schools/Facilities. To date, APS has received nearly 100 request to rename Washington-Lee H.S. and on June 7, 2018, the School Board directed staff to undertake a renaming process for the school.

In the fall of 2018, School and Community Relations is partnering with an external facilitator and the principal of Washington-Lee High School to manage a renaming for Washington-Lee that meets the criteria defined by the Naming of Facilities Policy.

Renaming Committee Membership 

The W-L renaming committee accepted applications over the summer, and was confirmed by the School Board in early September.
Renaming Committee – WLHS

21 Members Defined by PIP

• 4 Students: One student for each grade level (if the building being renamed is a high school)
• 3 Parents: parent/family representatives of the school being re-named (includes 1 IB parent)
• 3 School Staff: teacher/staff representatives of the school being re-named
• 4 Civic Assn.: One representative from each of the four civic associations that are closest to the school being re-named
• 4 Alumni: In the case of a high school, four alumni, each representing a different decade for the school’s graduating classes, and who are current residents of Arlington County
• 1 Historical Assn.: Representative from the Arlington Historical Society who is not an alumni or parent of a current student for the school to be renamed.
• 1 Minority Affairs: Arlington Civic Coalition for Minority Affairs
• 1 Principal of the school to be renamed.
• One Staff Liaison, (non-voting)
• One Professional Facilitator (non-voting)

Each member will be charged with soliciting input from their corresponding   school, neighborhood or community groups.

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 Renaming Process

SCR Staff Liaison & Principal Team

Supporting Documents:

• Policy F-6.1 Naming of Facilities https://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=B26QVF6B23A6#
• PIP 50-1.10 – Naming of Facilities