• School Naming Review


  • Click on a name below to see a brief biography of the individual the school is named after.
  • Albert Bushnell Hart (still under consideration)

  • Mary Church Terrell (formerly Louis Agassiz)

  • Stephanie Tubbs Jones (formerly Patrick Henry)

  • Natividad Pagan International Newcomers Academy (formerly Thomas Jefferson)

  • School Naming Criteria


    The following school naming criteria were approved by the Board of Education at the Sep. 21, 2021 Board Business Meeting and are intended to provide guidance to community members and community committees whose input is solicited regarding the name of specific Cleveland Metropolitan School District school buildings or facilities in accordance with Board Policy FF (Naming District Buildings).

    School Naming Resolution

    Strategy for School Naming Decisions

    General School/Facility Naming Criteria

    • The Board desires school/facility names that will build community over generations.
    • The Board will consider school/facility names of neighborhoods, geographical or geological features, floral and fauna (wildlife), that represent general features of the area around the school as well as the names of persons.
    • The Board wishes to avoid school/facility names that will likely present pronunciation challenges for students, families, or members of the school community.

    School/Facility Naming Criteria related to the names of people

    • The Board will consider the names of persons who have been deceased for a minimum of five (5) years and whose biography has been thoroughly and adequately researched by a trained public historian/historical consultant.
    • The Board will consider the names of persons who are recognized by the general public and widely respected, who embody exemplary qualities that can serve as models of excellence, and who have made significant contributions to our nation, state or local community, with a preference for persons whose contributions were specific to Cleveland and/or the Cleveland Municipal School District.
    • While the Board is happy to accept financial gifts as part of the school naming process, no school/facility will be named after an individual/entity solely for the purpose of accepting a financial gift. In general, names that are considered in conjunction with a proposed financial gift should only be considered for a specific portion of a building (e.g., gymnasium, library) and not the entire school/facility itself.
    • The Board will consider the names of religious leaders as long as the individual’s contributions extend beyond religious actions.
    • The Board will not consider the names of persons who have a documented history of enslaving other humans, or have actively participating in the institution of slavery, systemic racism, the oppression (the inequitable use of authority, law, or physical force to prevent others from being free or equal) of people of color, women, or other minority groups, or who have been a member of a supremacist organization.

     

Timeline of Process

July-August 2021

Work Group develops criteria, bios

September 2021

Board approves criteria for naming schools

October 2021

Work Group finalizes list of schools to be further reviewed

December 2021

Board approves list of schools to be further reviewed

January - April 2022

Collect and synthesize public input and feedback

April - May 2022

Board review naming recommendations

 

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