As Coolidge Corner School Set To Be Renamed, Students Petition

BROOKLINE, MA — Two years ago, after Brookline residents discovered that the namesake for The Edward Devotion School, one of its largest schools, owned a slave in the 18th century, Town Meeting voted in favor of renaming the school.

In the fall of 2018, the School Committee, the superintendent, educators, Coolidge Corner School students, alumni, and community members came together to create a naming process. The recommendations to the School Committee, which in turn, recommended their choice to the Town Naming Committee, which will now bring it before Town Meeting next month.

Except, not everyone agrees with the choice.

There are three proposals before Town Meeting; There's the School Committee and Naming Committee sponsored “Florida Ruffin Ridley School” (warrant article 26). Then there's the “Ethel Weiss School” brought forward by Larry Ruttman, (warrant article 27). And then Town Meeting Member Lee Selwyn's proposal, the Robert I. Sperber School, (warrant article 28.)

All three namesake proposals were among the 250 submitted to the town as suggestions for the school. Ridley was believed to be the first African American to own a house in Brookline, the second African American teacher in Boston, a leading African-American civil rights activists, suffragist, educator, writer and editor. Weiss, owned and operated the iconic Irving's Toy and Card Shop around the corner from the school until she passed away at the age of 101 in 2015, a beloved member of the Devotion School community. Sperber was superintendent of the Brookline School District from 1964 to 1982. He helped found METCO. He also implemented curriculum and support programs, including the Brookline Early Education Project (BEEP) and Facing History and

Ourselves. He passed away in 2016.

Of the 11 school buildings in Brookline, only one is named for a woman, and none for a person
of color.

At least one student who supports naming the school after Weiss said the process was biased in favor of Ridley.

Sam Haber, a seventh grader at the Coolidge Corner School and the editor of the school's unofficial newspaper, called the process a "whitewash," and submitted a petition that demanded the school be named for Ethel Weiss, the centenarian who owned and ran a small candy store next to the school for generations before she passed. The petition garnered support of 38 other students. UPDATE: In the days since Patch first published this article, a number of students - and their parents - have said they do not feel comfortable publically supporting the petition.

"The students of the school are frustrated with how unfair the naming process has been," he said in an email to Town Meeting Members. "We feel we have to have a voice that is not controlled by the biased renaming process. We believe that the new name of the school should be the Ethel Weiss School, and that the students shouldn't be used as a front for [Principal] Jen Buller to say that we agree with the Florida Ruffin Ridley."

The group did not outline what they thought was unfair about the process that the school department helped hammer out and publicize. Parents of students who were part of the months long naming process argue it was a fair process. The district has outlined the process online.

Sam said only a small percentage of the 7th grade agrees with choosing Ridley as the school's next name, and about a third of the grade agrees with the Ethel Weiss School name.

The process

The process was led by a group of students who call themselves the Bee-lievers in Change. They charged them with thinking critically about how one personifies the school motto "Work Hard, Be Kind, Help Others" as they narrowed the field of nominations.

They read through more than 250 nominations, 119 of which were unique. After getting public feedback and input the students researched then narrowed down the field to 15 semi-finalists. After more public meetings, conversation and input they recommended four names to the School Committee.

The four included Ruth Batson, a Boston activist who organized marches and efforts that led to the creation of the Racial Imbalance Act of 1965, which penalized schools if they stayed segregated. She was also the first executive director of METCO.

Also on the list: Roland Hayes, who had a home in Brookline, broke color barriers in the 1920s as the first African American to sing with major symphony orchestras in America and in the palaces of Europe.

Ultimately the student group landed on Florida Ruffin Ridley - a long time resident and the first African-American homeowner in town.

The naming committee held two public hearings -on Wed., Oct. 16 and Thurs., Oct. 17 to solicit feedback from community members prior to taking their vote. It was well attended. Students, staff, parents and community members showed up for both and expressed support to name the school after Ridley.

More than 30 people commented during these meetings. Several commented on the transparency and thoroughness of this process, as well as the leadership and educational opportunities provided to students through the nominations committee, according to school department officials.

The new name of a school building must be recommended by the School Committee to the Town’s Naming Committee, according to town bylaws. Once approved by the Naming Committee, the proposed name is then submitted to Town Meeting as a Warrant Article and is set to be voted on by Town Meeting.

The Town Naming Committee and the School Committee voted to recommend Warrant Article 26 - to name the Coolidge Corner School the Florida Ruffin Ridley School - to Town Meeting Members next month - where the decision rests.

RELATED:

• Coolidge Corner School May Be Named For Florida Ridley (June 2019)
• Coolidge Corner School Closer To Get New Name: Here Are The Options (April 2019)
• Brookline School Was Named For Slave Owner: Time For A Change (May 2018)

• Brookline School Committee Takes on Renaming of School (May 2018)
• Plans for Expanding and Renovating Devotion School
• Brookline Town Meeting May 2018: What Happened Night 1

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).