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Calgary school board cancels name review of local school

The Calgary Board of Education says a northwest school, named after Canada’s first prime minister, will keep its name.

The board released the decision about Sir John A. Macdonald School in Huntington Hills last week, saying that it disbanded the name review committee, formed more than two years ago, at the end of June.

It said it would “not proceed” with any further review and the name would stay.

“This decision was not made lightly,” the CBE said in a statement on its website.

“The board is committed to reconciliation through education and supporting improved achievement, equity, and well-being for students across our system.”

The committee was formed in 2022 to review the appropriateness of the junior high school’s name given that Macdonald authorized the creation of Canada’s residential school system.

Students at the school were calling on the board to change the name after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves found near a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

“No Indigenous, Black, Chinese, or racialized students should have to attend a school with a name that is a constant reminder of such violence and abuse,” said then-student Makena Halvorsen.

“Schools are supposed to be safe places to learn.”

The CBE says its board of trustees will “dedicate its time and energy to the goals of the education plan” and support the well-being and success of everyone at the school.

In June 2021, the CBE renamed Langevin School to Riverside School to remove ties to Hector-Louis Langevin, another father of Confederation who oversaw the implementation of Canada’s residential schools.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Catholic School District renamed Bishop Grandin High School for the same reasons.

That school is now known as Our Lady of the Rockies.

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