The superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia has recommended new names for a pair of schools, including T.C. Williams High School.
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings suggested that school board members take up Alexandria High School to replace the name of T.C. Williams, the city’s only high school, and that Matthew Maury Elementary School be renamed Naomi Brooks Elementary School for a former teacher who died in 2020.
Both names received the most votes in a community poll of nine choices for each school.
The school board heard the top three names Thursday, and on March 18, there will be a public hearing scheduled on the name recommendations.
The board will vote on the new names in April, and the changes are scheduled to be implemented in July.
Community members had until Feb. 19 to back one of nine name proposals each for the schools, which the school board clerk and superintendent vetted from thousands of entries submitted by students, families and staff.
Alexandria High School garnered 34.2% of entrees, followed by Titan Community High School (21.26%) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg High School (10.13%).
The semifinalists for T.C. Williams High School were:
- Alexandria High School
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg High School
- Chinquapin High School
- Blois Hundley High School
- Petey Jones High School
- King Street High School
- Parker-Gray High School
- Arnold J. Thurmond High School
- Titan Community High School
Naomi Brooks Elementary School garnered 30.46% of entrees, followed by Rosemont Park Elementary School (20.72%) and Jean Reid Elementary School (9.36%).
The semifinalists for Matthew Maury Elementary School were:
- Sarah Kemp Brady Elementary School
- Naomi Brooks Elementary School
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Elementary School
- Katherine Johnson Elementary School
- John Lewis Elementary School
- Jean Reid Elementary School
- Rosemont Park Elementary School
- Russell Road Elementary School
- Harriet Tubman Elementary School
The school board unanimously backed a name change for the two schools last November.
WTOP’s Matt Small and Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
