Framingham Begins Woodrow Wilson Elementary Renaming Process

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham School Committee this week will begin formal discussions on how to pick a new name for Woodrow Wilson Elementary School due to the 28th president's racism — including an infamous confrontation with Boston civil rights activist William Monroe Trotter.

The school is located in one of Framingham's most ethnically diverse neighborhoods, and one of only three elementary schools in the state offering the International Baccalaureate program — a learning system based on "intercultural understanding and respect."

A push to change the school's name began earlier this summer amid protests over racial issues in Framingham and across the nation.

Principal Purnima DeMorais and Vice Principal Darlene Pugnali presented suggestions for the name change process at a Sept. 21 School Committee subcommittee meeting. They also suggested renaming the school after Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire, originator of critical pedagogy movement.

"We think about the movements right now and everything we're going through as a country ... and we really feel Paulo Freire and his vision and advocacy really align to many of the tenets of our school," Pugnali said last week.

The school got its name in the 1920s, according to school officials, when Wilson was popular for his intervention in World War I and pursuit of the League of Nations. But he supported segregation in the federal government, and wrote in support of the Ku Klux Klan and denying Black citizens the right to vote.

In 1914, Trotter and a group of civil rights activists met with Wilson at the White House about segregation in the U.S., and Wilson responded by kicking them out.

About 10 percent of Wilson students are Black, which is higher than the district-wide average of 7.6 percent, and higher than the state average of 9.2 percent, according to state statistics.

DeMorais said during the Sept. 21 meeting that Wilson's name is "not suited for any school." Framingham has the only elementary school in the state bearing Wilson's full name, according to state records.

The renaming will involve the whole community, according to school officials. The full School Committee will discuss the process at the Wednesday evening meeting, and it will be led by DeMorais and Pugnali.