Upcoming middle school event honors namesake Ellen Garrison
Schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter said tomorrow’s community event is about connecting students with history.
Acton Middle School will celebrate its namesake, Ellen Garrison, tomorrow.
Schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter said the November 4 event, in partnership with The Robbins House, is about connecting students with history.
“It’s really important that the students who come through this site know who she is. It’s not just the name on the side,” Hunter said at an October 22 School Committee meeting.
A second goal: bringing more community members in to see the new middle school building. At the committee meeting, Hunter said it’s a community event and they “want families and parents to come, but we really want the broader community as well.”
The community event is free and will feature a short film called “Ellen Garrison: Scenes From an Activist Life.” There will also be a live portrayal of Garrison by actor Victoria Lee, and student-led tours of the new middle school.
The middle school’s naming was a controversial process that pitted vocal supporters of the Garrison moniker against those who said the community, not a single individual, should be elevated.
The School Committee voted for “Acton Middle School.” After Town Meeting voters urged reconsideration, the committee reversed course and approved a compromise name, “The Ellen Garrison Building at Acton Middle School.”
Hunter said tomorrow’s celebration reaffirms that the district takes “really seriously the importance of Ellen Garrison’s meaning to this community.”
