Charlottesville Schools Resume Review of Elementary Names; Seeks Committee Members

CHARLOTTESVILLE, September 20, 2024—Charlottesville City Schools will resume and complete the process of reviewing the names of its elementary schools to assure that the schools’ names are in alignment with the community’s current values. Staff, students, parents/guardians, and community members who are interested in serving on a school’s name review committee are invited to apply by visiting charlottesvilleschools.org/schoolnames. Committees are being formed for four elementary schools: Burnley-Moran and Johnson (resuming name reviews begun in 2022-23), and Greenbrier and Jackson-Via (the final two school names to be reviewed).

Background and Recent Updates to Charlottesville Schools Names

In Fall 2020, as Charlottesville City Schools continued public conversations around bringing racial equity into our division, then-Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins convened a School Naming Committee to seek community feedback and evaluate whether our school names aligned with our division values.

Major school-naming decisions to date include:

• In January 2023, the School Board voted to rename Venable Elementary as Trailblazer Elementary and Clark Elementary as Summit Elementary. These schools began using these names in August 2024.

• In April 2023, the School Board affirmed that Burnley-Moran Elementary and Johnson Elementary should also have new names, but voted to pause on choosing specific new names “to allow the staff and the school communities time to explore other names that are better reflective of the schools’ purpose and place.” During this time, the division has also refined the renaming processes.

• In June 2023, the School Board voted that Buford Middle School will be called Charlottesville Middle School starting in Fall 2025 when students will begin using the newly constructed portion of the school.

• As part of the transition of CATEC’s ownership to Charlottesville City Schools, the name of CATEC was slightly revised to the Charlottesville Area Technical Education Center, effective August 2024.

Next Steps for the Committees and Community

Here are some ways the community can join this process.

• Apply to serve on a school committee by September 29.

• Complete upcoming surveys, or attend a community forum scheduled for Monday, October 14 at 5:30pm.

• Connect Cville Schools with living relatives of Nannie Cox Jackson or Betty Via. Send an email on this topic to [email protected].

• Provide additional information or resources about the names of Jackson-Via or Greenbrier. Send an email on this topic to [email protected].

  • While additional information relating to the names of Burnley-Moran or Johnson is welcomed, their reviews were begun in 2022, and at this point, the process is focused on selecting new names. The decision to rename these schools was made based on the namesakes’ leadership of Charlottesville’s racially segregated white schools. The public feedback and the committee’s decision recognized that, regardless of the accomplishment or merit of these individuals, these schools’ names commemorate an era of segregated education that no longer reflects the division’s values.

 

The four school committees will begin meeting regularly in October to discuss public feedback and make their recommendations to the superintendent, who in turn will submit his recommendations to the Board for a vote. If these decisions are finalized by late winter or early spring, then the new names for Burnley-Moran and Johnson (and, if recommended, new names for either or both of the other two schools) could go into effect in August 2025.

Charlottesville City Schools is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students. This review process allows us to ensure our school names reflect those values.

For more information, please visit charlottesvilleschools.org/schoolnames.

Learn more about the Charlottesville City Schools at www.charlottesvilleschools.org. Our address is 1562 Dairy Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903. Phone: (434) 245-2400. Fax: (434) 245-2603.