NAMING OF SCHOOL FACILITIES

Background

From time to time the Board may be in a position to name a new school.  There may also be times when the Board has reason to consider renaming existing schools, or when representatives of a school community will request that the Board dedicate part of a school building or property in memory of a person.

The name of a school, or dedication of a portion thereof, will be decided by the Board following reasonable consultation with members of the school community.  A school will not be named for a living person.

Procedures

1. In consideration of the naming of a school or dedicating a part of a school, the Superintendent will appoint a school-naming committee that will include the following:
   • Trustee
   • Member of Executive Staff
   • Director of Facilities
   • Principal
   • Representative of the school’s teaching staff
   • Representative of the school’s support staff
   • Representative of the school’s Parents’ Advisory Council
   • Representative of the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, if appropriate
   • Representative of the local community if possible
2. The school-naming committee will seek input from the school community and, as possible, the community at large, and generate a list of up to three names, each with rationale, for consideration by the Board.  For a new school, this list is to be provided to the Board no less than six months before the scheduled opening of the school.
   1. Reasonable consultation is to include discussions with student and parent representatives, staff members of the school, members of the local community and, if a name is being considered, members of that person’s family, if possible.
   2. The name of a school will normally be based on geographic or community context.
   3. A school will be named in memory of a person only if the Board sees a compelling historically significant reason to do so.
3. The Board may, upon request, dedicate part of a school or property (e.g., library, gymnasium, field, theatre) in memory of a person or persons who held a significant long-standing connection to that location. A location may be dedicated in memory of more than one person.
   1. A proposal for dedicating a part of a school (e.g., library, gymnasium, field, theatre) in memory of a person will be considered by the Board only when the matter has been through a thorough consultative process within the school community, including representatives as listed in section 1.
4. Naming or dedicating in memory of a person will be based strictly on historical significance or strength of community connections.
5. Existing schools will not normally be renamed.