SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento City Unified School District voted Thursday to rename and rebrand three schools originally named for historical figures who killed and enslaved large populations of California's native peoples.
Sutter Middle School will become Miwok Middle School
- The district says the old namesake of the school, John Sutter, and his followers inflicted 'extreme brutality' on the Native American community. The new name, Miwok Middle, pays tribute to the people who originally inhabited the region when Europeans came to California.
Peter Burnett Elementary will become Suy:u Elementary
- The district says "suy:u" is the Miwok word for "hawk."
Kit Carson will become Umoja International Academy
- Umoja is the first principle of Kwanzaa and is the Swahili word for "unity."
The district says the work to rebrand the schools will happen over the summer and students returning in the fall will see the new names.
“All students deserve to learn in a school that is welcoming inside and out,” said Chinua Rhodes, SCUSD Board President. “The rebranding of three schools in our district will help us live up to this aspiration. I appreciate the school name selection committee's extensive work to research appropriate options and recommend these inspiring new names for our schools.”
The decision to rename the schools comes after the district identified schools originally named for people who no longer support the district's values in the fall of 2020.
A School Renaming Committee was then appointed by the Board of Education and is made up of one-third of Native American voices, one-third of administrators and staff, and one-third of Board-appointed community members.
Their work was delayed by pandemic school closings and they were just now able to fully convene this school year.
