Wilton’s Board of Education is entertaining the thought of changing the name of Miller-Driscoll Elementary School. The topic was raised earlier this spring, and whether or not to consider it will be discussed at the next BoE meeting this Wednesday, June 21 (at 7:15 p.m.).
According to BoE member Lory Rothstein, the idea has been floated around casually ever since the district started the Miller-Driscoll renovation project. Some officials thought, ‘Why not change the name with the opening of the newly renovated school?’
Miller-Driscoll Elementary was at one time actually two different schools built on the same plot of land. The Tilford W. Miller School was built in 1966 and named for Tilford W. Miller who had chaired the Board of Education for 20 years. The Ina E. Driscoll School was built “behind” Miller School in 1969 and named for beloved Wilton teacher and principal Ina E. Driscoll.
They were contained in two separate buildings that were structurally united in 1990 but continued to operate as two distinct schools administratively until 2010 when one administrative team was named to head up a combined Miller-Driscoll.
Rothstein was the BoE member who brought up the idea at the board’s May 11 meeting, raising the question of how many current residents, students and staff at Miller-Driscoll even know who the two namesake individuals were after 50 years since the schools were named. She pointed out that the school’s current name no longer reflect the full names of either Miller or Driscoll, and signage only says “Miller-Driscoll.”
“I wonder if the students who attend Miller-Driscoll today even know that Miller and Driscoll are names of actual people who played a role in Wilton’s history, or are they just meaningless words to them–just the name of their school,” Rothstein says.
Construction at M-D will be completed over the summer, and an official ribbon-cutting to open the finished renovated school will happen at the start of the new school year in September.
I believe now would be a good time to change the name of the school because the “new” school will open its doors this September. Rothstein says it would be perfect timing for a name change
“A new school, a fresh start, and we build a new history for the next generation Wilton children,” she says, adding, “A good school name provides a great opportunity, especially for young children, to be able to develop a true connection to their school.”
Rothstein points to students at Cider Mill School, and says they are “lucky” to have a school name that they can identify with.
“The Cider Mill community has often played off of the school name to help build school identity and school spirit among the students and staff. A few years ago CM had “Corey,” an apple core as the school mascot and had established “core” values. Now CM has a new Bee mascot and they continue to use the connection to an apple cider mill to build school spirit and values.
Not everyone on the BoE is completely sold that the school’s name should be changed. Glenn Hemmerle, the board member who chairs the M-D Building Committee, agreed that the timing works well: with construction finishing this summer, the school could be opened in the fall with new signage.
BoE chair Bruce Likly expressed some concern about taking on the task of renaming the school, wondering if the board was looking to find a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist. Hemmerle responded by calling it “an opportunity, not a problem.”
The discussed what community reaction would be to the idea of a name change. Would residents respond with a strong connection to the town’s history and with either Miller or Driscoll schools? Or should the district focus forward and build a new beginning for a new generation of learners?
In November 2015, the BoE adopted a new policy regarding the naming of school facilities. It prevents the Board from naming any facility after a person. So if the BoE opts to change Miller-Driscoll’s name, it would have to be to something other than that of an individual.
While there hasn’t been any idea discussed, Rothstein says the Board likely “would want to consider a name appropriate for our youngest learners and one that could stand the test of time.”
There also hasn’t been any procedure set up for how the name would get selected, but Rothstein says that undoubtedly resident input would be welcomed.
Since introducing the idea of a name change for the school, Rothstein says she personally has received only positive feedback from friends and other community members. The idea of a “fresh start” seems to have a strong appeal, for many reasons.
“Most people note that there used to be great competition between the two schools when they were separate–there was an ongoing debate as to which was the ‘better’ school, which had the ‘better’ PTA, and so on. In recent years M-D was often in the spotlight for not so good reasons–community concerns with the safety of the pre-renovated school environment and concerns about the funding of the renovations. Some have expressed that when the ribbon cutting is done on the newly renovated school in the fall, a new name would be a great opportunity for a fresh start for our early elementary school,” says Rothstein.
GOOD Morning Wilton wants to know what you think–should the name of Wilton’s pre K-2nd grade school stay as Miller-Driscoll School or should it be renamed? Voting will close on Tuesday, at 11:59 p.m., and we’ll bring the results to you on Wednesday morning, the day of the BoE discussion on the matter.
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