I would like to propose that the new middle school be named the Ellen Garrison Middle School.
The Middle School Building Committee thought carefully about the emotional connection that students would have when they entered their new school. The building’s name can contribute to making that connection. Giving it a generic name would represent a lost opportunity.
Why Ellen Garrison? Just as the new school brings together two groups of students, Ellen’s example builds upon the legacies of both Frank Sanborn and Elizabeth Peabody. As a product of Concord’s public schools, a working woman, educator, administrator, and champion of civil rights, Ellen Garrison stood for Concord’s values, and contributed to our town’s rich history in ways that were deeply aligned with Sanborn’s and Peabody’s work.
While we’re unable to ask Frank and Elizabeth who they’d prefer to succeed them, it’s easy to imagine them supporting her. No one else could fill those shoes nearly as well.
Matt Johnson
Winthrop Street
