Name change nears as shortlist is released for public voting
December 2, 2020
DCPS has released the shortlist of replacement names for Woodrow Wilson High School for public input. Community members will have until December 11 to provide input.
There are seven finalists on the shortlist: August Wilson, Edna B. Jackson, Hilda Mason, Marion Barry, Northwest, Vincent E. Reed, and William Syphax. As of December 1, August Wilson is leading with 33 percent of votes, Vincent E. Reed is following behind with 18 percent, Northwest in third with 16 and Edna B. Jackson with 14. So far, 43 percent of these votes have come from residents of Ward 3.
Following the name-nomination survey released in October, a committee of 12 Wilson community members, students, parents, administrators, and central office officials created the shortlist of seven names from the 2,000 plus responses in two virtual meetings that occurred on November 10 and 12.
Principal Kimberly Martin said that, “We (the committee) had a really short timeline when we had to look at the information that we got from the survey and then get that information back to DCPS for [the community to vote].” According to Martin, her role was “to do the introductions, [setting] some norms for the meeting then try to organize how we would begin discussing the huge amount of suggestions that we had.”
The committee made note of names that were very popular according to the nomination form. “If something had been nominated many many times, it seemed important to make sure that we gave some credibility to that. If a lot of people wanted it then it shouldn’t be ignored,” Martin said.
Martin describes the conversation the committee had as dynamic, “We talked about a lot of things that we thought the broader community would care about.” The committee aimed at creating a “list that represented each segment of our community,” Martin said.
Located on an online forum, current students, current and former parents and staff members, alumnus, community members, feeder school parents and “others,” have the ability to vote on the future name of Wilson.
Students make up 26 percent of the 4,911 total votes, alumnus 27 percent, and community members making up 22.
Voters have included publicly posted statements within the comment section, expressing their reason for selecting their candidate. There are over 2,649 comments. One voter explains why they voted for August Wilson, “It would be cheaper and Wilson has been known as Wilson for so long. At the same time, it would honor a black writer who we all read in school and represents our community.” Though 150 people have agreed with him in the comments, others disagree, replying that “convenience [isn’t] is a good reason to choose a name. [Keeping ‘Wilson’] would only change the surface appearance, without paying mind to the deep-seated racism that is at the name’s heart.”
In regards to Vincent E. Reed, many alumni explain in the comments that he was more than just a principal, but an important figure in the DCPS community. One commenter displays reasoning for voting for Reed, “I was a student at Wilson when Vincent Reed was principal and witnessed firsthand his devotion to excellence and deep commitment to personal relationships that encouraged us to do our best, both scholastically and personally. He holds a historic place in the school’s history and went on to further historic educational achievements.”
Though many alumni show support for Reed, Edna Jackson is also a beloved teacher by many. “In addition to being the first Black teacher at Wilson, Edna B. Jackson had an important impact on at least a generation of students…. She also counseled individuals to keep trying to improve things at Wilson and in society, a message that was important to hear in the turbulent early 1970s,” a comment reads.
In an effort to include current Wilson students, the list has been added into a “News and Announcements” section, at the very top of the Canvas Dashboard. This message includes a list of the names and a link to vote.
Though this forum includes the voices of Wilson, ultimately, the votes and comments are merely feedback that will be used for when Chancellor Ferebee and Mayor Bowser select the new name to propose to the DC Council before the end of 2020.
Vote here: https://publicinput.com/dcpsward3hs
Carolyn Nicholas • Dec 10, 2020 at 11:05 am
Hilda Mason believed that education is the foundation of community development and was a tireless advocate and supporter for DC public schools.
She was a teacher, counselor, and assistant principal in the DC Public School System for 19 years, until she was elected to the Board of Education from Ward 4 from 1972 – 1977, when she was appointed to the DC Council to fulfill the unexpired term of Julius Hobson, Sr. on the DC Council.
While a member of the D.C. Board of Education, Hilda helped to bring more efficient management to the Board and pressed for the issues of most importance to her, including greater involvement of parents and the community in the education decision-making process; adequate funding for schools; periodic health examinations of students; further emphasis on extending the age range of the student population, particularly by increasing the availability of early childhood education; reduction in class sizes; and equalization of resources between schools in lower-income areas of the city and schools in more affluent areas.
Hilda opposed any reduction in the number of teachers predicated on declining enrollment, unfunded pay raises which always seemed to result in reduced staffing, and wholesale reduction in the number of schools, though she believed that some of the school buildings were too large and parts of those buildings could be diverted to other uses. While a member of the D.C. Board of Education, Hilda founded the Ward IV Council on Education.
Hilda Mason also was a tireless worker for civil rights and equal justice in the Community, and a tireless fighter for DC Statehood. Re-naming Wilson Sr. High School for her is an honor that she certainly has earned for her long term dedication to the Schools and the citizens of the District of Columbia.
Hilda Mason gave her all to providing a quality education to District of Columbia students, her years of commitment and dedication to statehood for the District of Columbia, and to improving the quality of life for residents of the District of Columbia, but, Hilda Mason has not received recognition for any of that. The statement about her on the Public Input on New Name for DCPS’ Ward 3 High School site speaks very little to her lifelong earnest dedication and commitment to providing a quality education for DC Public School students and improving the quality of life of all DC residents, and statehood for the District of Columbia.
To quote The Washington Informer: “Of the individuals for whom the school will be renamed, our vote is for Hilda Howland Mason — a teacher, counselor and administrator in the D.C. Public Schools for 19 years. Mason, the self-proclaimed “Grandmother of the World,” was elected to the Board of Education from Ward 4 from 1972 — 1977 and later appointed to the D.C. Council to fulfill the unexpired term of Julius Hobson Sr. of the Statehood Party. A forceful Statehood advocate, beloved across the District’s eight wards, she was later elected to the at-large Council seat in a special election in July 1977, later winning reelection four more times.
Hilda Mason is a forgotten D.C. heroine whose contributions to the District should be taught and whose legacy should not be forgotten.”