5 schools in Peoria to get new names — but not without one added change first

PEORIA — The Peoria Public Schools board voted unanimously Monday evening to rename five schools in the district.

All but one of the names came from a board committee that spent months working on the project and sought suggestions from the community.

The name changes are:

• Calvin Coolidge Middle School will now be called Harold B. Dawson Middle School 
• Harrison Community Learning Center will become Annie Jo Gordon Community Learning Center 
• Lindbergh Middle School will become Liberty Leadership Middle School 
• Roosevelt Magnet School is becoming the Elise Ford Allen Academy 
• Washington Gifted Middle School will be called Reservoir Gifted Academy. 

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The committee suggested Washington Gifted Middle School be renamed in honor of Peoria-born feminist Betty Friedan, but board member Anni Reinking objected. 

“Upon researching Betty Friedan more deeply, it has come to light that she is someone who would go against our work at Peoria Public Schools, specifically our LGBTQ curriculum, as she was a noted opponent to LGBTQ rights," Reinking said.  

Reinking proposed the name Reservoir Gifted Academy in a nod to the history of the school. The school was named Reservoir Grade School before it was renamed to honor George Washington, Reinking said.

The school is located adjacent to the Peoria Heights reservoir, with several water tanks visible directly behind the school's athletic fields.

No one objected to Reinking’s proposal, and the measure passed without further comment.

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Why the schools were considered for renaming

School renaming has been a controversial subject the board has been discussing since 2020, when current school board President Gregory Wilson proposed it.  

“We have schools named after men who left legacies of continuing slavery and racism,” Wilson said in 2020. “We have Black children entering those schools that those men would not have allowed inside.” 

Wilson suggested that schools be renamed after local people with life stories that could inspire students.

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Previously, the district renamed Woodrow Wilson Primary School for Peoria's first Black physician, Dr. Maude A. Sanders, in 2018. Last year, the board voted to rename Thomas Jefferson Primary School for civil rights leader the Rev. C.T. Vivian, who began his career in Peoria.

Of those whose names were selected Monday night, Dawson was a Black minister and community volunteer; Gordon was the first Black employee of the Journal Star, spent four decades working at the Tri-County Urban League and was a community volunteer; and Allen was the first Black woman to found a newspaper in Peoria.