U-46 staff recommend renaming new Bartlett school 'Hawk Hollow Middle School' after community input

Administration recommended on Jan. 13 that the Board of Education adopt a resolution to rename the new Bartlett facility from Hawk Hollow Elementary School to Hawk Hollow Middle School, citing community nominations, a town hall and a district survey that favored that name.

Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm and Rola Tariq Mohammed, the district’s education‑pioneers research and project management fellow, summarized the naming process required by board policy 150. They reported collecting 42 nominations submitted by 54 individuals (one nomination was excluded because it proposed naming for a living person), holding a community town hall on Dec. 18 at Prairie View Elementary School in Bartlett, and running an online survey open Dec. 18–Jan. 3 that drew 192 responses.

The survey results showed 74% of respondents selected "Hawk Hollow Middle School" as their preferred name. Nearly 11% selected "Enrico Fermi Middle School," and about 5% chose "Bartlett Middle School." Lindholm and Mohammed said the recommendation to use Hawk Hollow was intended to honor local history, preserve the legacy of the former Hawk Hollow elementary site and foster community belonging.

Board members thanked staff and community members for participating in the process. Several board members called out the quantity and quality of written nominations and student participation at the town hall as evidence of community engagement.

Administration’s recommendation was informational in this session; the Jan. 13 transcript records the presentation and board discussion but does not include a recorded board vote on the resolution. The district’s report notes the new middle school in Bartlett is on schedule to open for seventh-grade students in August 2025.