School Renaming Update
Update: 9/17/20: Find the latest School Renaming info and suggestion form here.
UPDATE: 9/11/20:
School Renaming Update
A recorded webinar is available here with additional details on the renaming process can be watched at your convenience.
The slides from the webinar are available here, and include an overview of the timeline and next steps, as well as examples of criteria that could be used by the advisory committee to help sift through the eventual name suggestions.
Feedback & Thought Exchange on Naming Criteria - Please Respond by Sept 15
The recorded webinar contains invitations to participate in both a poll and a Thought Exchange activity to provide feedback on criteria for selection of eventual top candidates for school names. You can watch the webinar and stop the playback to use a QR code to get to the website, or use the links below.
The poll and ThoughtExchange links will be live from September 11-15. Please just complete one Google Poll, but you can return to the Thought Exchange more than once if you wish. Please do take a look at the webinar and/or slides before completing the poll and/or thought exchange
Google Poll on naming criteria: https://tinyurl.com/name-criteria
Thought Exchange to provide suggestions for additional criteria: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/857717534
The top criteria will be featured as part of the name suggestions form.
Next Steps
Thursday, September 17 at 7:00 pm there will be a live webinar held as part of the PTA meeting to begin the process of soliciting new name suggestions. You do not need to attend the webinar to suggest names; a naming suggestion form will be sent to all.
History of Jefferson Name Changes
In addition to the BUSD website which was created to post updates on the renaming process, there is also a webpage on the Jefferson Name Change History including archives from 2003-2005, 2017-18, and 2020.
On July 1, 2020, the School Board voted to discontinue the name “Jefferson” for the elementary school and launched a process for renaming. Superintendent Stephens has formed an Advisory Committee which will assist with the process of soliciting and reviewing potential new names for the school and support a community engagement and education process for learning about top names, before the choice of a new name will be made a Board meeting (tentatively scheduled for December 2, 2020).
A new BUSD webpage for the Jefferson school name change is now up, as of this afternoon. It will be continuously updated as a resource for information about the process. Here are a few highlights of the process going forward. I’ll send out updates with live links as they become available.
Recorded Webinars:
A Town Hall to explain the renaming process took place June 22 (the link here is to the presentation, and the recording will be uploaded to YouTube as well).
A Recorded Webinar will become available September 11 for additional details on the process and can be watched at your convenience on YouTube.
School Meetings
Thursday, September 17 at 7:00 pm there will be a webinar held along with the PTA meeting - this webinar will kick off solicitations of name suggestions, provide information about naming criteria, and provide further timeline details.
In mid-November a school meeting will be held to talk about the top name suggestions. (Date TBD.)
School Community Engagement
The September 11 webinar and invitation will include a link to a survey and/or ThoughtExchange about naming criteria that will remain active until Sept 15.
The September 17 webinar and invitation will include a link to a naming submissions form that will remain active until September 27.
Outreach and school community engagement during October and early November will also include school focus groups, surveys, classroom discussions, learning materials about the top list of names, and a school community meeting to discuss the top name candidates, before a recommendation is made to the Superintendent and Board for an early December choice of a new name!