WEST END VOICES

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Ian Rowe is the president of the Lord Roberts Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee.

TIME TO CHANGE THE SCHOOL’S NAME
Lord Roberts Was No Role Model For Students

by Ian Rowe
For over one hundred years the big school at the bottom of the hill in Vancouver’s West End (Bidwell between Pendrell and Comox) has been named after a man who ran concentration camps during the Boer War in South Africa, where he also burned down farms and forcefully occupied the land of indigenous populations, and so was a hero of the British Empire.

With that in mind at the end of last school year, the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) formally requested that the Vancouver School Board (VSB) begin the process of engagement to re-name our school. Because we have been thinking about this for a long time, the PAC Exec has a name recommendation, but to be done properly, re-naming requires broad community engagement. The PAC, teachers, school admin, students, CUPE and community members will all be active participants in the conversation.

To meet VSB’s policy, a new name ought to be place-based, and not be named after a person. Indigenous educators should also be engaged (at our school this is Chad, and he is awesome). Where there is a strong desire for an Indigenous name the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) can be asked for help; however, asking for a new name is a big request that moves the work off of our community into theirs. Gifting a place name is a beautiful and significant honor that requires large amounts of time, research, and people engagement from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm.

Lord Frederick Roberts (1832 - 1914) … Hardly a role-model for the students of the West End elementary school.
(Click photo to enlarge)

So far, parents have shared similar desires.

We have been told people want a name that reflects the community. A name that makes it easy to place (or even just find) our school when talking with friends, family, sports teams and the like. After years of learning, debate, parent surveys, and conversations (with students, teachers, admin) the PAC executive thinks that the simple, place-based, name West End Elementary (and West End Elementary Annex) meets the majority of the community expectations.

Of course, this is the school system, so a new name is still going to take a long time. We will push for the process to start this year. Once it does there will be meetings, meetings, then more meetings and a lot of sharing of information. There will be surveys and probably votes and more.

There will be a lot of conversations, which is good. And slow.

For me it boils down to this: Once you know your school is named after a guy who ran concentration camps, it’s hard to un-know. The school community has been ready for a new name for a long time, one that is place-based and reflects our community. After thinking and talking about it for a long time, I hope it will be West End Elementary.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The opening paragraph of this editorial has been updated to indicate that Lord Roberts’ colonial activities cited took place in South Africa. He was not involved in the colonial enterprise in Canada. Learn more about Lord Frederick Roberts here.

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