Three Poughkeepsie school names changed to reflect values of students and families
A renaming committee concluded that since inventor Samuel Morse, former Governor George Clinton and Christopher Columbus supported — or at least condoned — slavery, their names should be replaced with those of civil rights icons.
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The Poughkeepsie School Board has approved name changes for three elementary schools.
This came after more than a year of research, community meetings and surveys to find better names that match the values of students and staff.
Samuel FB Morse Elementary will be Sojourner Truth Elementary.
Christopher Columbus Elementary will be named after Yale's first Black female graduate, Judge Jane Bolin.
George Clinton Elementary is being renamed after baseball great and activist Roberto Clemente.
In response to community concerns about school names, the school board started an ad hoc school renaming committee.
"The renaming of these school buildings in the Poughkeepsie City School District represents a powerful step," Fatimah Santiago, the co-chair of the ad hoc committee, said Wednesday during a presentation at the school board meeting.
The committee concluded that since inventor Samuel Morse, former Gov. George Clinton and Christopher Columbus supported — or at least condoned — slavery, their names should be replaced with those of civil rights icons.
James Stewart, father of a student at the George Clinton School, said the changes are overdue.
He said it makes more sense to name schools after people who fought discrimination, not after people believed to have perpetuated it.
"It's really good," he said. "I feel like now we're making progress and they're getting on track as a whole community."
Poughkeepsie Schools Superintendent Eric Rosser said the committee did encounter some resistance in public forums to removing names like Columbus from school buildings.
"The committee heard that but was also very moved by what the larger community wanted," Rosser said, "which was to change the names of three of our buildings."
The New York State Education Department must approve the name changes to be official.
Rosser expects the changes to be approved this spring, and said the schools' signs will be replaced over the summer.
