Members of the Broadus Wood Elementary School (BWES) community will soon receive a third and final survey seeking their perspectives on potential names for the school as part of the Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) naming review process. This survey asks participants to choose from among five possible school names: Broadus Wood Elementary School, Buck Mountain Elementary School, Northern Elementary School, Piney Mountain Elementary School, and Rivanna/Rivanna River Elementary School.
The survey, which can be accessed at https://survey.k12insight.com/r/TKswb1, is part of a school naming review being conducted by a 14-member community advisory committee in accordance with a division-wide policy. The policy requires a community review of all schools in the division that are named for an individual to ensure those school names reflect the division’s four values of equity, excellence, family and community, and wellness. The survey will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 3.
Ray Chrobak, a teacher and co-chair of the school’s naming review committee along with colleague Katie Breaud, said of the process, “It was inspiring to hear from so many Bobcat families, staff, alumni, community members, and especially students as we discussed this name review process and determined our five possible names. Feedback from many stakeholders has been so important in our committee conversation, and will help to guide our committee’s recommendation.”
The committee includes two members of the Broadus Wood faculty who are also alumnae, five parents of students, and three residents of the school community who do not have students attending the school.
In order to engage students with the naming review process, Chrobak and Breaud are hosting a school assembly on Friday to talk with students about the name options. Students will have the opportunity during the meeting to vote on their favorite name and will receive an “I voted” election sticker similar to that distributed to voters in federal, state and local elections.
The school division will post the survey results on the School Naming Review web page on Monday, February 7, and the advisory committee will have its final meeting to discuss the survey results on Tuesday, February 8. During this meeting, the committee will consider all of the information obtained through public comment, survey results, and its own research.
The committee will send its name recommendation, along with all supporting evidence, to the school division’s superintendent, Dr. Matthew Haas, and announce their choice on Friday, February 11. Haas will take the advisory committee’s recommended name for the school under advisement and submit a formal recommendation to the school board, who will make the final decision.
In all, 14 schools in the division will undergo a naming review. To date, naming reviews of five schools in the division have been completed, resulting in four schools changing their name and one school retaining its name.
Breaud and Chrobak said the committee welcomes suggestions or questions about the review process at any time. All committee members can be emailed at SchoolNamingReview@k12albemarle.org.
CONTACT: Helen Dunn, Legislative and Public Affairs Officer
PHONE: 434-249-8379