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Schools skip controversy with feel-good names

By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 3, 2007

The nation's school boards have virtually abandoned the practice of naming new schools after presidents, heroes and civic leaders in favor of inoffensive or trite references to nature and animals, according to a study released yesterday by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

Facts say it all: Of 3,000 public schools in Florida, five are named for George Washington and 11 for manatees, 54 for palm trees, 91 for wooded areas and 155 for lakes.

"Everybody loves a manatee, so why not name a school after one? The sea cow has trumped the father of our country," said lead author Jay P. Greene, head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and a senior fellow at the research institute.

"It's easier to choose a name that doesn't offend anyone. What we name our schools reflects and shapes our values, however, and part of the civic mission of public education is to provide future citizens with models of civic behavior they can imitate and learn from," Mr. Greene said.

Once upon a time, almost every town and city had its Thomas Jefferson High or Lincoln Elementary. Now schools are named as if they were suburban subdivisions or resorts with evocative monikers such as "Cactus Shadows" or "Whispering Winds," Mr. Greene said.

The study, which tracked naming trends since 1947 in seven representative states — Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin — found that just 5 percent of schools referenced U.S. presidents. The "overwhelming majority of school districts" do not have a single school named for a president.

The study showcased the fate of Jefferson Elementary School in Fayetteville, Ark., which was renamed Owl Creek Elementary "after a small ditch with a trickle of water that runs by the school."

The trend reflects "increased skepticism of inherited wisdom, revisionist history and the increased interest in the environment," the study said.

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