A Town resident has submitted a proposal to change the name of Center School in Willington to the Jared Sparks School. Jared Sparks (1789-1866) was an early Willington resident who grew up to be President of Harvard College and a noted historian of the American Revolution. The Board of Education is currently looking for input on this proposal. Your thoughts?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
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11 comments:
I prefer to stay with Center School.
I attended Center School and look forward to the day that my children will go there too. I guess I have sentimental feelings about the name, as I'm sure many citizens in town do as well.
Aside from all the warm & fuzzy feelings that many have, I think a better reason to keep the name is that to change it will cost the taxpayers money. The signs, the letterhead, the forms, etc. will all need to be changed and not only will this be a big headache for those who work in admin. at the school, it will end up costing us.
I think it's a nice idea to honor Jared Sparks by naming a school after him, but perhaps we should save that name for any future schools that will be built.
Good points boomerang.
It's an insult and a slap in the face to the person or persons that named the school in the first place.
This is a very expensive idea and will cause problems for years to come.
If Mr. Park has enough spare time on his hands to come up with this maybe he should join the the volunteer fire department; great for the town at no cost to the taxpayers.
The volunteer fire department does cost the taxpayers money. This cost is far less than #1 as these people are volunteers. As everyone in town is aware some people wish to do away with the volunteer department.
The volunteer department should stay and the town should fund their equipment and building.
Money is better spent on that than changing the name of a school.
I agree with the other comments. I am curious, though, the history of the current name.
There's an article in the Chronicle today about Mr. Park's proposal to the BOE. The article offers some insight into how the school got it's name (basically, it was in the "center" of town.) Not too original or terribly clever, but we've had the name for generations.
I apologize if I offended anyone with this proposal. It was not intended to "slap anyone in the face;" but to honor a past Willington resident. Please find the proposal below in its entirety.
P.S. Currently I volunteer with Cub Scouts and Little League.
Cordially, Steven Park
To: The Willington Board of Education
From: Steven H. Park
Date: 1 July 2005
CC: Barbara Lysik & Connie Berglund
Re: The naming of Center School
There are at least 734 schools in the United States that utilize the words center and school in their naming; Connecticut alone has 39. Some schools use the word to indicate a place where a particular activity or service is concentrated (e.g. early childhood center). Others use it in a geographical way, indicating that the school is centrally located in a township or borough. The original Center School in Willington reflected its central location in town. It was built in 1791 and was located on what is now St. Jude’s Church property. The current Center School building was erected in 1911 with additions put on in 1958 and 1980. On the other hand, Hall Memorial School was named after a prominent Willington family. It was:
built in 1922 as a gift from Rosa and Fanny Parker Hall in memory of three generations who “had at heart the interest of their community.” In 1956, the school and 9.5 acres of land was given to the town by the Hall Foundation with the proviso that it would revert to the Foundation if it ever ceased to be used as a school.
While the name “Center School” has a long history in Willington, it does not seem to reflect the name of a prominent citizen, benefactor, or educator.
Many schools, including those in towns adjacent to Willington, have changed the names of their schools away from a geographical location to naming the school after a particular individual. Some school districts have named schools after local educators or town heroes; others have named their school after people of national fame. Willington is in the happy position of having a local hero with a national reputation who was also a prominent educator and scholar. Additionally, in my research, I was not able to find even one other Jared Sparks School anywhere in the world.
Changing the name of Center School to Jared Sparks School would incur only modest expenses that could be absorbed over a period of time. Obviously, a new sign would be necessary, new letterhead, business cards, and a new URL for the School’s website. The teachers’ and administrators’ email addresses could be forwarded to the new domain name while email users made the transition to the new name.
Attachment:
Richard Cox’s excellent synopsis of Sparks from American National Biography Vol. XX (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 420-421.
2.) Resident pitches school name change
Publish Date: October 20, 2005
Word Count: 480
Document ID: 10D5FC674C878CD0
By KIMBERLY WETZEL Chronicle Staff Writer.WILLINGTON - A town resident has proposed to change the name of Center School to reflect one of the town's " local heroes." Steven Park has proposed the school be renamed Jared Sparks School, since Sparks was " a local hero with a national reputation who was also a prominent educator and scholar." Sparks, 1789- 1866, was an early Willington resident who grew up to be president of Harvard and
1.) School to keep its name
Author: KIMBERLY WETZEL Chronicle Staff Writer
Publish Date: November 10, 2005
Word Count: 349
Document ID: 10DCF0C988F5F200
WILLINGTON - While Center School will keep its name, Willington Superintendent Corrine Berglund said the name " Jared Sparks School" may not be completely out of the picture. Out of 75 different responses concerning the name change, one resident suggested if a new school is needed, it could be named Jared Sparks School. In total, Berglund said 63 residents expressed their desire to keep the name Center School, while 10 wanted to change the name and two residents had no
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