Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
School names for sale?
Yesterday I wrote about the Dayton schools naming a school for former Sinclair Community College President David Ponitz, a influential community figure for two decades.
But today I am wondering, should the school board instead be offering the names to the highest bidder?
In Las Vegas, new elementary schools are traditionally named for community figures and high schools are named for geographic areas. But the school board there is now hopes to raise millions by selling the naming rights to schools.
Among suitors already interested in school district projects are MGM Mirage, Wells Fargo Bank and the Sims Family Foundation. Private donors or companies that pay up can name classrooms, laboratories and school buildings, the story said.
It’s certainly breaking convention to name schools in this way. But if sports teams, theaters and other public structures already are taking corporate names for cash, why shouldn’t cash-strapped school districts get in on the game?
Think of it: Fifth Third High School, NCR Elementary School. Or maybe it would be more like Coca-Cola High and Frito-Lay Elementary?
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Naming schools can be tricky
From one point of view, David Ponitz is the perfect choice to name Dayton’s new career technology high school after.
As its president for 22 years, Ponitz was the major force building Sinclair Community College from a small outfit into one of the nation’s best community colleges. The new school will be built next to Sinclair and the two will have a deep partnership, with Sinclair faculty and support staff involved in the operation of the new high school.
Ponitz has long been a supporter of public education in Dayton and as chair of the district’s levy committee in 2002 was one of the key forces that helped convince voters to approve millions to help build this new high school and others throughout the city. He will be intimately involved in the crafting of the instructional program at the school.
But looking from a different view, it’s fair to ask if the board has strayed from its own criteria for naming schools.
Back in the summer, the board made its first name change when it followed the advice of students and picked Thurgood Marshall as the name for a new high school at the site of the former Roth Middle School. (By the way, the Marshall family still has not given its blessing for the use of his name, so the school officially has not yet been named).
There was some discussion at that time about how to pick an appropriate name for a new school and the board shared its criteria. Let’s see how those criteria fit for Ponitz. The board said it preferred to name schools after people who are:
• Deceased.
Ponitz, thankfully, seems quite healthy and very much alive. However, the board did say it would consider living people will be considered if a strong case can be made. They did not define what makes a strong case.
• Historically relevant in general, but preferably those with historical relevance in Dayton and in education.
Ponitz has undoubtably been an important person on Dayton’s education scene during his career. Perhaps it’s a stretch to call him a “historical” figure, though. Especially when the board is renaming a school that was previously named for NCR founder John H. Patterson, who no one can dispute is an important Dayton historical figure.
• Good models of citizenship with strong community values.
Ponitz clearly meets this criteria.
• Whenver possible, African American.
Back in the summer, board members pointed out that the school district is more than 70 percent African American but has only one operating school (Dunbar High School) named for an African American. This was part of the reason they liked Thurgood Marshall. Ponitz, while sporting a strong resume, is white and some may question why the board went away so soon from naming schools after African Americans (Marshall and Charity Adams Earley Academy were their prior two choices).
What do you think of the Ponitz pick?
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