PORTSMOUTH, Va. - After months of input from the community and two public hearings, the Portsmouth School Board voted Thursday to officially rename three schools whose names have racist ties.
Woodrow Wilson High School will be renamed Manor High School (the school’s former name before it was consolidated with two other high schools in 1993); James Hurst Elementary will be renamed Cradock Elementary; and John Tyler Elementary will be renamed Waterview Elementary.
The call to change the school names came as part of the national debate of renaming buildings, monuments and other institutions originally named for Confederate leaders or others who supported racial injustices including slavery and school segregation. The debate also happened throughout Hampton Roads.
In September, the Newport News School Board voted to to rename the schools on Tier 1: Epes Elementary, Lee Hall Elementary, Nelson Elementary and Dozier Middle Schools.
Throughout the rest of the school year, school maintenance and operations will be in the schools to make the requisite updates to the buildings, including signage and painting.
The changes will take place beginning July 1.
