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Dani Ledezma, ½ûÂþÌìÌà Senior Advisor on Racial Equity and Social Justice, presented the plan she authored with Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero that will be co-facilitated with ½ûÂþÌìÌà students. The plan establishes a Renaming and Redefining Committee that will begin work in September on a five-phase process.

(Read the memo to the Board)

Among the phases is a review and study of renaming Wilson High School, which is being undertaken because the former president it is named for expressed outright racist beliefs. In addition, Madison High School is undergoing the process to change its name as the former president the school is named for was a slave owner who held racist views. Students played lead roles in the process at both schools.

“Young people today are demanding much more from our institutions, and wholesale veneration of racist figures should be a thing of the past,” Superintendent Guerrero said.

Ledezma emphasized the importance of being as thoughtful as possible and fully engaging with students during the process. She proposed a balanced approach that centers on the voices of students, especially students of color, and aligns with the district's Racial Equity and Social Justice Framework and Plan, as well as the ½ûÂþÌìÌà Vision.

“As leaders of ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, a 150-year-old pre-K-12 education system, we have the opportunity to channel the energy of this collective movement and to build upon the decades of work by black, indigenous and other communities of color to disrupt the cultural and institutional racism that permeates our own system,” Ledezma said.

Watch the presentation and discussion at the Board meeting: