ALAMEDA — Students, teachers and parents have weighed in on a new name for Henry Haight Elementary School, the campus on Santa Clara Avenue named for an early California governor who espoused racist views.
Their winning recommendation? “Love,” according to votes at the school. But whether that name will actually replace Haight remains to be seen.
Balloting took place Nov. 6 and 15 as a way to also teach students a civics lesson by replicating a primary and general election.
During the first round, “Love” emerged top among four contenders.
Results for the second round — when “Love” and Haight were the only choices — will not be known until Nov. 26, when the League of Women Voters will tally the ballots and announce the result.
“We thought it would be a good idea to have an outside group go over the election and count the votes,” Principal Kevin Baker said.
The voting follows a committee made up of teachers, parents and the school’s staff soliciting names as a replacement for Haight, who served as 10th governor of California from 1867 to 1871.
If “Love” remains the leading contender, Superintendent Sean McPhetridge will present it as a possible replacement name to the school board.
Other names in the running were “Don Grant,” an Encinal High School teacher and track coach; “Ohlone,” after the Native Americans who lived along the Northern California coast; and “Nielsen Tam,” an educator who also served as a district trustee.
McPhetridge proposed looking into renaming the school in December 2017 after research from local activist Rasheed Shabazz showed Haight made derogatory comments about blacks and Asians during his inaugural speech as 10th governor of California in December 1867.
He opposed allowing blacks and Asian-Americans to vote. Haight also called for a halt to Asian immigration into California.
Schools can be named after individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to their community, according to state law. Names with state, national or international significance or that reflect a school’s location also are allowed.
The Haight committee adopted additional criteria, including that the name reflect diversity, and that any suggested name of an individuals represent someone who was deceased and was connected to Alameda, involved with education and was a supporter of civil rights, social justice or equity.
Grant, who died in June 1995, overcame childhood polio to play college football and baseball before working at Encinal High School.
A longtime Alameda teacher and the district’s first Asian-American principal, Tam was elected to the school board in 2008. He was serving for a second term when he died in May 2015.
The four names picked as finalists were among 403 suggestions the committee received at the school and online Sept. 14 to Oct. 12.
Along with parents, students and school staff, alumni of the past three years, immediate neighbors of the campus and nearby businesses were eligible to vote.