By Joe Farkus, NDG Contributing Writer
The Dallas ISD Trustee Board voted unanimously to approve the proposed name changes of the three Dallas ISD elementary schools named after Confederate figures during its board meeting Thursday, Dec. 14.
“I want to add my thanks to the administration and to all three of the communities who worked together and came up with consensus names,” said Board President Dan Micciche. “I think it reflects well on the district and on the school communities.”
Robert E. Lee Elementary, named after the Confederate General whose statue was removed from Oak Lawn Park (then known as Lee Park), is to become Geneva Heights Elementary – named after the land on which the school sits.
Trustee Dustin Marshall, who represents the district Lee sits in, thanked the school’s principal for the leadership displayed in the process and the ability to work with the group of “activists” on campus who pressured the campus administration and trustee board to change the school’s name.
Stonewall Jackson Elementary, which also sits in Marshall’s district and is named after another widely-known Confederate military officer, will become Mockingbird Elementary – named after the street it sits on, East Mockingbird Lane.
William L. Cabell Elementary, named after the Dallas Mayor who also served in the Confederate Army as a brigadier general, will change to Chapel Hill Preparatory: A Personalized Learning School.
Commenting on the “broad-based input” that went into the Cabell name change, Trustee Edwin Flores, who represents Cabell’s district, said “We had a community meeting; we had outreach through every single conceivable electronic method that we could pursue.”
“We’re very excited about (the) change,” Flores added.
“All three of these changes says something about DISD, and who we are as an institution,” said Trustee Miguel Solis. “This is bold leadership.”
“It’s going to lay the path for, not just acknowledgment of the history, but also a path for remediation and for real conversations about equity and equality,” he added.
The cost estimated to change the four schools’ names is $150,000 and largely covers the changing of signage and designated markings on each campus. Albert Sidney Johnston Elementary, named after a high-ranking Confederate leader who was killed during the Civil War, will choose a new name for itself by February 2018.
The Dallas ISD Trustee Board made a wise decision in changing the name of these three schools from Confederate figures in history.