SAN LEANDRO – Woodrow Wilson Elementary College has been renamed to honor the realm’s indigenous folks.
The college will now be referred to as Halkin Elementary. San Leandro is a part of the Bay Mewuk Ohlone and Chochenyo conventional homeland, referred to as Halkin.
The brand new identify, chosen after a two-year neighborhood course of, was accredited by the San Leandro Unified faculty board on Tuesday.
“I'm extraordinarily proud to be part of the bigger San Leandro neighborhood, and our faculty neighborhood, that was keen to do the onerous, vital work of studying and uplifting who and the place we're,” mentioned Principal Virginia Quock in an announcement.
The method to rename the varsity started in June 2020 after greater than 75% of the varsity’s workers and households signed a petition looking for the change.
The petition famous President Wilson’s historical past of racist and segregationist insurance policies. Wilson was president from 1913 to 1921.
“This is a chance for us as a neighborhood to uplift one other neighborhood who has not traditionally been allowed to talk in these bigger public areas in modern historical past,” mentioned faculty board President James Aguilar in an announcement. “This was the correct choice as we're a faculty district dedicated to fairness.”
The method of adjusting the identify will start instantly and is predicted to be accomplished earlier than the autumn time period.
This isn't the primary space faculty to have its Wilson identify eliminated.
In February 2020, the board of the West Contra Costa County Unified College District eliminated Wilson’s identify from an elementary faculty in Richmond. The college is now named after former First Girl Michelle Obama.
The San Leandro faculty board voted to take away Wilson’s identify from the varsity in September 2021, however didn't select a brand new identify at the moment.
“Halkin” was chosen after schoolwide analysis of the historical past of the varsity’s land, with the assistance of the San Leandro Historical past Museum, the East Bay Regional Parks Ohlone curriculum and visits from native indigenous residents.
As of the final depend in 2003, there have been about 600 enrolled members of the Ohlone tribe, however that quantity could have elevated.
“My household has lived right here within the space we now name San Leandro without end, and we have now by no means left even after a violent historical past of colonization, together with enslavement at Mission San Jose,” Vincent Medina, a Halkin member of the neighborhood, mentioned in an announcement.
The college, situated at 1300 Williams St., has about 760 college students.
The remainder of San Leandro’s eight elementary faculties are nonetheless named after presidents.