HOLYOKE — With the new middle school continuing its march toward completion, four semi-finalist name options for the school have been chosen and the district is asking students, families and staff to take one more survey to decide.
The semi-finalist name options now under consideration are: Carlos Vega, Felipe Pantoja, Holyoke Middle or William R. Peck. Vega was a social justice activist in Holyoke, Pantoja was a teacher in the Holyoke school system for 34 years, and Peck, the replaced school building’s name, was a superintendent for 43 years.
“The semi-finalist naming options reflected in this final survey were suggestions that had generated a lot of support from the first round of the survey, which were then discussed by members of the subcommittee,” said Ward 3 School Committee member and chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee Yadillette Rivera Colón. “Survey participants from the first round shared their rationale for making their suggestions, and we tried to reflect their thinking in the descriptions provided in the second survey.”
Over the last several months, the School Department has collected suggestions for the school’s name, mascot and official school colors and have narrowed down the list thanks to the work of the DEI Subcommittee of the Holyoke School Committee, along with other stakeholders including school staff, district staff and family members.
“We received more than 200 written suggestions. We reviewed all submissions and then organized the top choices for discussion during a subcommittee meeting,” said Colón. “A few people also wrote that they would like students to have input on the colors and mascot especially, which is why students who will attend the new school will have opportunities to complete this new survey during class time.”
Possible school mascot options have been narrowed down to Bear, Coqui, Lion and Phoenix. The possible school colors to be matched with one of these mascots are aqua, a combination of blue, red and white, or a combination of red and black.
The survey will close on Nov. 3 and is available on the district website. The district is especially seeking the input from students, families and staff who will be part of this new middle school community. Metcalf and STEM students will move to the new middle school in fall 2025. Donahue, Lawrence and Morgan students will move to the new middle school when they reach grade 6.
Following the Nov. 3 deadline, DEI subcommittee members and other stakeholders will review the findings and make a recommendation when they meet on Nov. 13.
“We will analyze the data by the various groups — students, staff, family, community members — to see if there are differences in opinion by group. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the School Committee and City Council on the name of the school and to HPS leadership on the colors and mascot,” Colón said.
The School Committee and City Council will then make the final decision based on the recommendations provided. Colón added she hopes the final decision will come by January 2025.
Construction on the new middle school continues to progress and the building is expected to be open for students in fall 2025.
