HONORING ATHENS HISTORY

With the passing of the motion to rename Alps Road and Chase Street Elementary Schools, questions and concerns remain over the process to rename the two formerly white-only CCSD schools.

On Feb. 9, the Clarke County School District Board of Education voted 7-2 to rename Alps Elementary School to Bettye Henderson Holston Elementary and Chase Elementary School to Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary.

The renaming is meant to honor the pioneering Black educators who helped desegregate the CCSD in 1966 as a part of an initiative led by then-Superintendent Samuel Wood. Wood assigned teachers Bettye Henderson Holston and Johnnie Lay Burks to the two formerly white-only elementary schools. At the time, this motion was unique amongst school districts in the South, as it integrated schools without litigation, state or federal mandate. District 7 Representative and CCSD Board of Education President Dr. LaKeisha Gantt formally proposed renaming Chase Street and Alps Road on Dec. 15, 2022.

“We wanted to do something for people that impacted the school (district) and were critical during that period (of) integration,” Gantt said. “I knew that (it) was a big ask. We (live) in a community where it’s hard to (imagine) that we had schools that were created for white students and schools that were created for Black students. It’s (more than) just about the renaming, it’s (about) starting to have conversations about Athens history.”

However, while the motion to rename Chase Street to Johnnie Lay Burks and Alps Road to Bettye Henderson Holston passed, concerns regarding insufficient public involvement arose prior to the vote.

“I am of heart at this time that we hold off on voting on this,” CCSD Superintendent Dr. Robbie P. Hooker said during the Feb. 9 BOE meeting. “I believe that we need more community input before we make this decision, this is my recommendation.”

During the same meeting, Chase Street parent Erin Thompson-Podvin echoed Dr. Hooker’s concern and noted the disconnect between the BOE and Chase Street community.

“Communication is key to understanding context on any topic and that communication has felt absent,” Thompson-Podvin said. “In the numerous conversations I’ve had with teachers and staff and families associated with Chase Street, not a single person has said that they oppose the name change. What people oppose is the approach that has been taken, the lack