My name is Audrea Rease, and I have a child enrolled in one of the Grady feeder schools.  I'm petitioning on behalf of myself, other parents, current students, alumni and other stakeholders who disagree with the proposed new name for Henry W. Grady High School.

We are asking the Atlanta Board of Education to VOTE NO on November 2nd on the Grady Renaming Committee’s recommendation.

1.    Despite a months-long process, the current recommendation does not appropriately reflect broad and overwhelming community input.

During its October 20 meeting, the Renaming Committee voted to recommend the name Ida B. Wells to replace Henry W. Grady.  This vote took place *before* results of the Board of Education’s community survey were published.  The survey results showed an overwhelming 62% of respondents in favor of renaming the school based on location (either Midtown or Piedmont), with only 21.5% in favor of Ida B. Wells.  The Renaming Committee’s recommendation should have better accounted for this feedback.

2.    The recommendation does not adequately incorporate feedback from current students, making the recommendation skewed and inaccurate.

The voting Renaming Committee does not contain a current student. The sitting “student” rep graduated in May 2020. A current student should’ve been appointed as replacement. Only 50 students submitted feedback in favor of Ida B. Wells out of a student population of over 1500 (more than 4 times as many students requested the school be given a name reflective of its location). Fewer than half of students responded to the survey, however, and a current student might have been better able to gather and present more fully representative student feedback, as the APS renaming committee process is designed to do. 

3.   The current recommendation is a missed opportunity to allow the students, teachers, families, alumni and community to work together to embrace a new name. 

The new name for Grady should be properly vetted, and the process implemented with fidelity, to ensure actual representation of all stakeholders. We ask that our Board representatives truly represent the Grady community, with far less weight given to the personal opinions of the Renaming Committee.  We are asking the Board of Education to work with us and not against us.  Through authentic collaboration and with broad public support, Grady’s new name can be a milestone of progress for our whole community, rather than a confusing choice that minimizes community input.  It does not seem a fitting tribute to Ida B. Wells if naming a school in her honor results in an overwhelming feeling of disenfranchisement among the students and community of the school which bears her name. 

4. The proposed name feels “reactionary” - Ida B. Wells had no connection to our city or our school and seems to have been chosen to counteract the legacy of Henry W. Grady rather than to positively reflect our school and its students.

The decision to rename the school already makes a statement against Grady’s legacy. Now that we have taken that stand, the community seems to prefer a location-based name which focuses on the place which brings us together for an unique education - a name which maintains a familiar/shared connection, allows recognition of our school during this period of change, and will continue to define us into the future.

We implore our Board members to represent their constituents and VOTE NO on November 2nd to the Renaming Committee’s recommendation. 

Please sign this petition to show your support! (Let us know if you are a student, alumni, etc.)