T.C. Williams, Maury Elementary To Be Renamed In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Alexandria School Board voted Monday to change the names of T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School. The vote was unanimous among the nine members.

The name change process had started in July after a petition with signatures from 100 Alexandria residents was submitted for T.C. Williams High School in June. Matthew Maury Elementary was not originally part of the renaming process but was added when a community petition was submitted in August.

On Alexandria City Public Schools' Identity Project web page, it was noted that "many ACPS schools were named during a time in our city and in our country when vastly different attitudes and beliefs guided our decisions." One of these is T.C. Williams High School, named after Thomas Chambliss Williams, the former Alexandria superintendent from the mid-1930s until 1963 who promoted the school division's resistance to desegregation efforts. Today, Alexandria's sole public high school serves students from 120 different countries.

The same kind of discussions began for Matthew Maury Elementary, named for a Confederate commander and the "Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval Meteorology" for his contributions to charting winds and ocean currents.

The school board's vote followed a community and student engagement process with read-ins, community and student conversations and a survey. Community engagement involved read-ins to provide context for the school district's history and the people the schools are named after.

"It was important that students of color felt involved and engaged in this process from the start,"said Ashley Sanchez-Viafara, a student representative to the school board. "We are so often a marginalized voice and through this process we were able to have open and frank discussions, not just about a name change, but about the modern-day segregation that still exists in our school division."

A survey of families, students, staff and other community members with 3,150 responses found 51 strongly agree T.C. Williams should be renamed, 24 percent agree, 13 percent disagree and 12 percent strongly disagree. The same question posed for Matthew Maury Elementary drew 3,074 responses, with 39 percent strongly agreeing the name should be changed, 33 percent agreeing, 16 percent disagreeing and 11 percent strongly disagreeing. The survey was conducted from Oct. 13 to 29.

The public hearing for the name changes was held on Oct. 29. Michele Chapman, a longtime Alexandria resident and T.C. Williams graduate, told the school board it was long overdue to change the name of T.C. Williams High School. She said one of the many reasons the name should be changed is that Williams was a key figure in taking land from Black families "to build a school that he didn't want black students to attend."

"I'm here today, one, to thank you for affording us the opportunity to express our feelings. Two, to remind you that we as a community should never reward bad behavior, and three, it is never too late to right a wrong," said Chapman.

Allen Irwin, an ACPS parent, urged the school board to not let the process drag out.

"The Identity Project sessions have highlighted what was evident when you received the renaming petitions months ago- the schools' namesakes aren't worthy of the honor by contemporary standards, let alone those of their times," said Irwin in a public comment.

Superintendent Gregory Hutchings Jr. had recommended the school board approve the name changes and allow him to seek community input and nominations for a new name. The second phase process for renaming will be outlined to the school board in December. The superintendent will then develop naming recommendations for the board to approve in April 2021, with the new names taking effect in the 2021-2022 school year.

Cost estimates to implement the name change at T.C. Williams will total about $325,000, while cost estimates for Matthew Maury are just over $5,000.

Some possible name suggestions were brought up during the Oct. 29 public hearing. Sharon Henderson, daughter of the late coach Herman Boone, told the school board the families of Boone and the late assistant coach Bill Yoast want the name Boone Yoast High School to be considered. Boone and Yoast coached the 1971 state championship-winning T.C. Williams football team, which in turn helped to ease racial tensions in Alexandria.

"Now we all know that the blockbuster movie 'Remember the Titans' put T.C. Williams High School in many households around the country while it forever carved our fathers' names in the history books of the world," said Henderson. "But I want it to be known that these two men did things far greater for the community of Alexandria than what was portrayed in that movie. You see, both men shared a history of being relentless advocates for students towards social justice and equality. Because of their determination to make a difference, many young people benefited from their leadership on and off the football field and today are hugely successful in their own lives."

For future updates on the renamings, visit the Identity Project web page.