Albemarle County Public Schools continues their review of existing schools this week to see if their current namesakes are appropriate for the third decade of the 21st Century. On Tuesday, a committee to review the name of Mary Carr Greer Elementary School will begin their work at a 3 p.m. organizational meeting, but the public is not allowed. Twelve people have been selected to see if the name is consistent with the county’s naming policy. This includes Principal Steve Saunders as well as guidance counselor Susie Lee.
As with other schools that have gone through this process, the committee will develop a community survey to solicit suggestions for a school name. Two public meetings will be held as well.
“Members of the community and the committee can recommend either a new name be chosen for the school or the retention of its current name,” reads a notice on the county’s website. “If the advisory committee selects the current school name as one of its three finalists, the policy requires the committee to examine if Mary Carr Greer, for whom the school is named, made contributions to the community of state, national or world-wide significance.”
According to the Ivy Creek Foundation, Mary Carr Greer lived from 1884 to 1973 and was the eldest daughter of Hugh Carr. She attended Union Ridge Graded School, a school for Black students established after Emancipation. Greer would become a teacher and joined the faculty at the Albemarle Training School before becoming its principal in 1931. She retired from education in 1950. The elementary school that carries her name opened in 1979 off of Lambs Lane.
So far, the names of Broadus Wood Elementary and Virginia L. Murray Elementary School have been retained.
Paul Cale Elementary was renamed Mountain View, Mortimer Sutherland Elementary renamed Lakeside Elementary, and Murray High School is now the Community Lab School. Jack Jouett Middle School will become Journey Middle School on July 1.
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