CHILLICOTHE - In the battle between simplicity and history, a recent survey of nearly 500 respondents in the Chillicothe City School District revealed a majority of respondents favor names for two new elementary buildings that make it easy to understand where they stand in the hierarchy of the school system.
Of the 489 responses that came in for the primary building, 48 percent favored Chillicothe Primary School as the name for the new K through 2nd grade building scheduled for a fall 2018 opening at the corner of Cherry and Mill streets. In similar fashion, 50.4 percent of 486 respondents favored Chillicothe Intermediate School as the name for the new grades 3 through 6 building to be located on Arch Street.
There were some practical reasons offered for the more generic approach to naming the buildings.
"We should be consistent with the names of the middle and high schools," one respondent said. "We have enough problems with other districts transferring students to Chillicothe City School District without confusing them further."
"While the other name choices are creative, to keep 'Chillicothe' as part of the names for the new buildings seems to support our brand better than using different names — we didn't give the new high school and middle school different names when they were built," another respondent noted. "Also, it would be consistent throughout the district — we would have Chillicothe Primary School, Chillicothe Intermediate School, Chillicothe Middle School and Chillicothe High School. The consistency of name implies a seamless continuity of education from building to building as the kids progress through the grades."
Other supportive comments for simplicity in the naming included promoting unity within the district and city and building a district pride starting at the youngest age groups that could grow through high school.
Other naming options paying tribute to the past also enjoyed support. Tecumseh Primary School and Thomas Worthington Primary School received the second- and third-most votes for the primary school while Great Seal Intermediate School and Edward Tiffin Intermediate School took the second and third spot for the 3 through 6 building.
"I want to stick to historical names," one respondent said. "It will help our city to remain connected with our rich heritage as the historical city we are. Going with Tecumseh and Worthington will allow us to connect and pay respect to two historical figures and historical communities that made Chillicothe a great place to call home."
"I love the idea of using historical people in the names of the schools, but I think we should use names other than what have been used already (Worthington and Tiffin)," another said. "Some suggestions could be Duncan McArthur or Nathaniel Massie."
Some respondents wanted to honor a more recent figure from the school district's past. Among the dozens of comments made on the survey were a few in support of including former district educator and administrator Joyce Atwood in one of the names, and somebody suggested naming the different pods or learning spaces within each building after "great leaders in our community."
During Monday night's school board meeting, Board President Steve Mullins asked board members and members of the administration to continue asking others for input on the names and to bring that information to the board's April meeting, during which a discussion will be held on how the board wishes to go about deciding on the final names for the buildings.
- Chris Balusik, Chillicothe Gazette