Board approves renaming 2 Minneapolis schools

Two Minneapolis schools will soon have new names.

The Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education approved renaming Sheridan Dual Language Elementary and Jefferson Global Studies & Humanities Tuesday. Sheridan will be renamed Las Estrellas Dual Language Elementary, while Jefferson will be known as Ella Baker Global Studies & Humanities.

The decision to rename the schools comes after the MPS Facility Names Advisory Committee was tasked with looking into and recommending schools to be renamed back in October 2020.

After Sheridan and Jefferson were identified as schools to potentially be renamed, task forces consisting of teachers, parents, administrators and community members began working to find suitable choices for a new name.

“Las Estrellas,” which means “the stars,” and Ella Baker, an African-American civil rights and human rights activist, rose to the top.

“Sheridan students strongly identify with our current star mascot, and this was reflected in the voting results, which showed overwhelming support for Las Estrellas,” Sheridan Principal Yajaira Guzman Carrero said in a statement. “We reach for the stars and encourage all members of our school community to see themselves in a supportive constellation filled with brilliance, passion, and vigor.”

“I’m grateful our students were involved in picking our new name,” Jefferson Principal Holly Kleppe added. “Ella Baker represents a large majority of our student population. For our students to be able to walk into a building named after someone who looks like them will help encourage them to be their whole selves and strive to be as influential as she was.”