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ADSB will stop naming schools in honour of notable people

Decision comes as board prepares to name new Blind River school, links of some people to old residential school system
20220421-ADSB summer stock-DT-02
Algoma District School Board (ADSB) office main entrance

The Algoma District School Board has decided that it will no longer name schools in honour of notable individuals.

The decision - made by ADSB trustees and administrators at Tuesday’s regular board meeting - comes as the board gets ready to name a new school in Blind River.

Trustee Susan Myers voiced concerns regarding the board naming a school after a living person who could eventually do something inappropriate after receiving such an honour.

The board’s decision breaks a longstanding tradition.

In the past, the ADSB has named many schools in honour of notable community builders such as Sir James Dunn.

Elaine Johnston, ADSB vice-chair and First Nation trustee and Debbie Shamas, North Shore - Highway 17 trustee, will sit on the ad hoc committee that will recommend a name for the new Blind River school.

Currently, board policy requires that two trustees, a school administrator, a staff member, a parent representative, a superintendent of education, a student and a community member sit on such naming committees.

The new JK-12 Blind River school will be an academic home for approximately 380 students from both the ADSB and the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l’Ontario.

The Ministry of Education will spend $36.7 million on the new school.

The ADSB school naming decision comes after some schools in Canada were renamed due to a person’s links to the former residential school system.

Toronto’s Ryerson University, for example, was renamed Metropolitan University. 

Names for new ADSB schools could include the name of the street where a school is situated or geographical features associated with where a school is located.


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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