At a public meeting of the Broadus Wood Elementary School (BWES) Name Review Advisory Committee on Tuesday evening, the grandson and great-granddaughter of Broadus Ira Wood shared their memories of the man for whom the school is named, describing him as having been dedicated to the Earlysville community and to notions of equity for his fellow community members. Both family members said that Mr. Wood spent his life serving his community as a businessman, farmer, and member of the local school board.
In addition to these public comments, opening remarks were made by Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Haas, and one committee member gave updates on how BWES students are being informed about the name review process in developmentally appropriate ways. The committee also reviewed results from the first survey that has circulated to gather public feedback for the name review process.
The survey, which received 397 responses, showed that a majority of respondents consider themselves familiar with the life and career of Broadus Ira Wood as well as the ACPS values of equity, excellence, family and community, and wellness. Sixty-two percent said they had a good understanding of the BWES guiding principles, which focus on academic excellence, character, love of learning, collaboration and independence, respect, and appreciation and awareness of others.
The committee now hopes to solicit further community feedback through a second survey, which asks respondents to submit name recommendations as well as any community wisdom that may help inform the name review process. The survey, which closes on November 18, is available now at https://survey.k12insight.com/r/FrN1Ft.
A second public meeting will be held on November 30 at 6:30 p.m. Anyone who would like to speak at that meeting may sign up by emailing SchoolNamingReview@k12albemarle.org by 9 a.m. on the day of the meeting. Members of the public may livestream the meeting at http://streaming.k12albemarle.org/ACPS/schoolnamingreview.htm.
The 14-person advisory committee was chosen from among those who expressed interest in serving. It includes the school’s principal, Amy Morris, and the division’s Community Education Coordinator, Karen Waters-Wicks. Katie Breaud, who serves as the school’s talent development resource teacher, and Ray Chrobak, the school librarian, are the committee’s co-chairs. Other members include parents of Broadus Wood students, alumni, and residents of the school community.
Broadus Wood is the sixth school in the division to conduct a naming review in alignment with a school board policy that requires all schools in the division that are named for individuals to have their names reviewed. The board’s objective is to ensure that the names of all schools represent the division’s four values of equity, excellence, family and community, and wellness.
The five previous school naming reviews also were completed by volunteer community advisory committees. The school board decided to change the name of four schools and to retain the name of another. Summaries of all completed reviews and those in progress are accessible from the school division’s School Names Under Review web page.
Broadus Ira Wood was born in Earlysville in 1864. In 1906, he sold four acres of his land for use as the site of Earlysville High School for $50 and later gave the school two more acres. When the high school burned down in 1934, a new school was built to replace it, this time named after Wood. It became an elementary school in 1954.
Members of the BWES or ACPS community can submit public comments, counsel, and questions to the advisory committee via email at SchoolNamingReview@k12albemarle.org.
This release was updated on November 22, 2021, to accurately reflect the streaming link for the public meeting on November 30.
CONTACT: Helen Dunn, Legislative and Public Affairs Officer
PHONE: 434-975-9452