The school board has decided to change the name of Wellsville Elementary
to Willow Valley Elementary when we transfer to the new building. We are
against changing the name of Wellsville Elementary to Willow Valley Elementary
when the transfer happens in the fall of 2016. We see value in community and
tradition. We already have an identity as Wellsville Elementary, and we want to
maintain our identity.
We understand that the school district prefers to avoid naming
schools after the community when creating a new elementary school. They prefer
this so they can be more inclusive of students who attend the school, but may
not live in that town. On the contrary, we think that it's simply noting where
the school is, and doesn't comment on who attends the school. Just as Utah
State University hosts students from a world population and not just a Utah
population, Wellsville Elementary can host students from more than one town. We
are also aware that there is at least one elementary school in the district
that will be allowed to maintain their town name as their school name when they
change buildings. We would like to do the same. We are not a new school that is
being created; we are simply moving buildings. Our name already exists. In
essence, our name is “grandfathered” in.
Wellsville citizens overwhelmingly opposed the school bond in 2013
primarily over concerns about moving an elementary school into a retrofitted
middle school. However, the decision was made and the move is imminent. Although
unhappy, we realize that a school is about so much more than a building, it’s
about the students, the educators, the parents, the traditions, and the
community at large that supports it. We are moving buildings, but we are still
Wellsville Elementary. We want to maintain our name, along with all that comes
with it, to maintain some consistency when we move schools. Keeping our name
will allow us to keep our traditions alive.
There has been an elementary in Wellsville since 1857---the
longest in the valley---and we should honor that history by maintaining a
school with the community name. We have a school song, school traditions (most
notably the Wellsville Mile), and our beloved mascot the Wellsville Wolf Cub,
which each represent the community and would have to be changed if our school
name is changed. We love our school and show it through t-shirts, pennants,
cups, backpacks, water bottles, and more; that would all become obsolete with a
name change.
In many ways, we feel like we are already losing our school since
the school district decided to relegate us out to a middle school (without air
conditioning) instead of building us a new elementary as was promised years
ago. We'd hate to lose the name, too.
The name Willow Valley has been used for many years. It has been
used for a middle school. Despite the fact that we are moving to that building,
we are not a middle school. We are
still an elementary school. We are not the identity of Willow Valley Middle
School. We are the identity of Wellsville Elementary.
So, we are petitioning for your support of our effort to request
that the Cache County School District allow Wellsville Elementary to remain
Wellsville Elementary. Please sign our petition if you agree. We will take this to the school board and request we keep our
name. Thank you!
