New school name ruffles feathers in Lake Erie community

Open this photo in gallery:

The town of Kingsville, Ont., sits along the north shore of Lake Erie, in an area that is a famous rest stop for migrating birds and butterflies.

So when local trustees recently decided to name a new school building Erie Migration Academy to highlight the environmental role the area plays, they thought it would be welcome by the community or, at the very least, be innocuous enough to take flight.

Turns out, it has ruffled quite a few feathers.

In recent days, a petition has been launched asking the school board to rescind the name and include the word Kingsville. Alumni and current students of Kingsville District High School held a walkout last Friday in protest of the new name, and another one is planned for later this week. The local provincial politician has sent a letter to trustees condemning their decision.

The name change is seemingly benign in comparison with other similar controversies. School names across the country have come under scrutiny in recent years and boards have been forced to remove the names of controversial figures, including John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, who was involved in the creation of the residential school system. As a matter of policy, some boards are no longer naming new schools after individuals.

In Kingsville, area school trustee Julia Burgess, who was chair of the naming committee, has been perplexed by the reaction. She’s received threats from community members – so many that she’s informed the Ontario Provincial Police.

The new kindergarten to Grade 12 school, which is slated to open this fall, will draw students from the three Kingsville schools that are closing, as well as pupils from neighbouring communities.

”They come from all over … a huge catchment area, much larger than the town of Kingsville,” Ms. Burgess said. “Yes, it’s in Kingsville. They got the school. The site is gorgeous. But we need to be welcoming every single person who comes to this school.”

The naming committee received roughly 600 ideas, including Kingsville District Academy and Greater Kingsville Academy. Ms. Burgess said that the word “Erie” was mentioned countless times. The committee also received suggestions that referenced water and migration.

The chosen name is not only more inclusive, Ms. Burgess said, but also reflects the environmental diversity of the region. In a few short weeks, visitors will flock to the area to see specific birds and species. From her backyard, she often sees trees dripping with monarch butterflies waiting to go over the lake.

Anthony Leardi, the MPP for Essex County, said trustees were sending a message that the name Kingsville was somehow inappropriate. “Yet, no one has enunciated why. On the contrary, the name ‘Kingsville’ is appropriate and in good taste,” he said in a letter to the Greater Essex County District School Board on Saturday.

Trustees “made a misstep” with the name and should reconsider the decision, he wrote. “The board seems to have chosen a name which means nothing to no one.”

Angelina Ward started the petition to the board, which so far has garnered about 2,100 signatures. She is asking trustees to reconsider the name and for Ms. Burgess to apologize for ignoring the community.

“It doesn’t really resonate with any of us,” she said. “Most of the people here wanted Kingsville to be in the name. The town of Kingsville is where this school is.”

Ms. Ward, who graduated from Kingsville District High School in 2021, said she has heard a few people joke that the name Erie Migration Academy makes it sound like it’s a school for birds.

“I just don’t want the heart of our town to be a giant joke.”

Ms. Burgess believes trustees have followed the rules.

Of the pushback, she said: “It’s a civic pride thing conflated with the grief of losing their name and their identity, and thinking that it’s only their school. … Of course, it’s theirs. But it’s not only theirs.”