Sylvan selects 3 school names

Board chooses Crossroads, Sanders, Savage from list of 190 suggestions

By Julissa McKinnon Modest Bee, March 24, 2005

Sylvan Union School District's new campuses could have been named after famed filmmaker George Lucas, former President Reagan or the late racing legend Dale Earnhardt. They were among 190 names suggested by parents, teachers and others.

But the board of trustees decided Tuesday to name the three soon-to-be-built schools Savage, Sanders and Crossroads — after a former teacher, a retired principal and the neighborhood where the third campus will be built.

Of the initial 190 suggested names, 55 were dismissed because they did not meet board criteria.

The schools could be named after prominent people, living or dead, or they could be associated with a historical event or a school's location.

So Big Bad Bear Elementary School was out. So was Posley Penguins Elementary School. So were 53 other suggestions.

Before Tuesday's meeting, the district had narrowed the list to five potential names for each campus. Tuesday, each board member ranked the options from first to fifth for each campus. The names with the highest average rankings were selected.

The campus on Maid Mariane Lane in Modesto will be Daniel J. Savage Middle School.

Savage taught in the Sylvan district for 27 years at Somerset and Ustach middle schools. He served as president of the Sylvan District Educators' Association for 17 years. He died of cancer in December 2003.

Construction is scheduled to start in September and the site is scheduled to open in August 2007, said Paul Speed, district director of facilities and construction.

The elementary school at 3101 Fine Ave. in Modesto will be called Mary Ann Sanders Elementary School. Sanders worked for the district for 21 years, retiring as principal of Orchard Elementary School in 2002. She is an adviser to the Sylvan Educational Foundation and Region VII consultant for the Association of California School Administrators.

Construction is scheduled to start in June and the school should open in August 2006, Speed said.

An elementary school in Riverbank, being built on Saxon Way, has been named Crossroads Elementary School and is part of the city's Crossroads neighborhood in southwest Riverbank.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2006, and the school should open in July or August 2007, Speed said.

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Last modified: March 24, 2005

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