OKCPS board seeks community input on name for new Southeast middle school

Vice Chair Laurie Bowman and members of the Operations Committee asked the full board for guidance about naming a new middle school under construction near Southeast 25th and South High Avenue that will merge Wheeler and Capitol Hill students. Bowman said the board’s naming policy, D‑08, gives the board responsibility for naming and that options discussed in committee included: keeping the Capitol Hill Middle School name to reflect feeder patterns; using Wheeler Middle School because of proximity to the old Wheeler site; or launching a community engagement process to pick a new name.

Board members acknowledged advantages and drawbacks to each option. One board member said keeping Capitol Hill would provide continuity with Capitol Hill High School; others said using Wheeler could create confusion because an existing Wheeler District and references to Wheeler School already exist. Several members said they favored a new name developed through community engagement. The board discussed the policy criteria for naming schools and noted restrictions in the policy including that a facility cannot be named for a current employee or sitting board member and that when an individual is proposed they must have “made outstanding contributions to the school community, city, state, country, or world.”

Vice Chair Bowman asked district communications and operations staff to prepare a community engagement plan and return with a recommendation on a timeframe; board members said the turnaround should be relatively quick because the district needs school branding as construction proceeds.