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Roland Patzi
English
May 28, 2015
Name Change at my Old Elementary School
I attended Florence Elementary in Hillcrest from kindergarten through fifth grade.
My teachers at Florence were really passionate about what they taught, and I really
enjoyed math and science. One of my favorite teachers was Ms. Jackson, who I had in
both kindergarten and fifth grade. I kept in contact with her after I graduated and was
able to serve my junior internship in her classroom. Like all schools, Florence did not
have a lot of money, but the teachers did a lot of good teaching and students loved
being there. You could imagine my reaction when I found out that there were plans to
suddenly change the name of my old elementary school.
I was shocked because if the name of school changed, It felt like my old school would
no longer exist. What is in a name? To me, Florence Elementary means community
and memories. A community task force was trying to change the name of the school
for Christine Kehoe Elementary because Kehoe was a popular elected official and a
leader in the LGBT community. Kehoe, however, never wanted her name on the school
in the first place. And even though the school itself wanted to look for a new vision for
me the name was personal and the change was not needed. Florence Elementary had
been there for 100 years, and if they change the name, that tradition will die.
Another problem with the name change was that task force did not involve the
school community. As one parent said about at a school board meeting, the name
change has been proposed without a plan to forge a meaningful partnership between

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the community members that want the change and the teachers, staff, parents and
volunteers (Marshall). As a graduate of the school, it really bothered me that the task
force just did not make an effort to send an email or put it on a newspaper.
During my internship, I went to a couple of meetings at the school and spoke out
against the name change. Other ways I could use my power would be to make a
petition to the school board, call news stations, or write a letter to the mayor explaining
why the school name should not be changed.

Work Cited
Marshall, Hutton. "San Diego Uptown News News and Information about the Heart of
San Diego." San Diego Uptown News. N.p., 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 June 2015.