Administrative Procedures

Administrative Procedure 541

Names of Schools and Division Buildings

Background

Naming/renaming a school, a portion of a school, or a school system facility is a matter that deserves thoughtful attention.

Procedures

A. Naming of a New School or New Section of a School

1. The Director of Education shall initiate the formation of a Committee for the naming of a school or a portion of a school.
2. The Committee may have representation from the community at large, Principals and Vice-Principals, the local teaching staff, parents/caregivers, and the students.
3. The community at large may include representation from historical societies, senior citizens, or groups who may have an interest in being represented.
4. Each representative group shall be limited to a maximum of two (2) members.
5. The Committee shall determine the process that will be followed in soliciting input in the naming process.
6. Once the Committee has gathered input and is ready to make a recommendation,  representatives (up to 5 people) from the Committee can present, as a delegation, to the Board of Education at a regularly scheduled Board meeting.

B. Renaming Existing Schools or Sections of Existing Schools

1. Any request to rename an existing school or section of an existing school will be sent to the Director of Education.
2. Upon receiving a request, the Director of Education may do some or all of the following:
   1. meet with the representatives making the request;
   2. ask for more information related to the request to clarify the reasoning behind it;
   3. survey the affected school community to determine the community support related to the renaming request.  This survey could take many different forms, such as:
      1. electronic survey;
      2. community open house;
      3. individual discussions;
      4. any other method determined effective in gathering community feedback.
3. If the Director of Education determines there is significant support from the school community, representatives from the group making the request can present, as delegattion, to the Board of Education at a regularly scheduled Board meeting. 
4. While we acknowledge past practices within Lloydminster Public School Division, naming school or portions of schools to create a permanent memorial will not be considered. Trauma informed research tells us that creating permanent memorials can hinder the process of grief as well as negatively impacting vulnerable students. Permanent memorials can also activate a trauma response in some people.  

C. Board of Education Considerations

1. The names considered shall:
   1. Have significance for the students, parents/caregivers, and the community of the particular facility;
   2. Be easily identifiable with the facility;
   3. Not be in conflict with the names of other facilities in the system, or surrounding Divisions; and, 
   4. Be appropriate in terms of copyright and trademark provisions.
2. Where possible, new facilities shall be assigned names before construction begins. 
3. The Board of Education is responsible for approval of names of all Lloydminster Public School Divisions owned facilities. 

Reference
Section 85, 87 Education Act, 1995
Section 38 The School Division Administration Regulation
Center For Trauma Informed Practices

Revised
August 2014
December 2017
August 2023
August 2024