At its Aug. 23 meeting, the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education directed district staff to review the Woodstock Child Development Center’s name. Board members had previously expressed interest in renaming the school after Ardella Dailey, the former WCDC director who also worked as an AUSD principal, administrator, superintendent and board member.
The AUSD policy clearly sets out the steps that need to be taken to ensure that all voices are heard and all options considered while considering the renaming of an AUSD facility. The first step was to engage families and staff at the site to discuss the current name, including its current relevance. Key to this review was the fact that WCDC no longer serves just the Woodstock neighborhood. Instead it draws students and families from across Alameda and the greater Bay Area.
Based on these conversations, at the Sept. 9 board meeting, the AUSD superintendent recommended moving to the second step: initiating the renaming process. During this phase:
- a renaming committee was convened;
- community meetings were organized to solicit and review potential names;
- a survey translated into four languages was sent to the WCDC community so that they could submit potential new names;
- and two names were suggested: the Alameda Child Development Center and the Dr. Ardella Dailey Development Center.
WCDC families, staff and neighbors, as well as elementary-age students enrolled in WCDC’s afterschool programs, were then given the opportunity to vote on the names. Based on the survey’s results, the WCDC Renaming Committee recommended naming WCDC the “Alameda Child Development Center” and naming the special education preschool program there the “Dr. Ardella Dailey Preschool Program.” The superintendent recommended that same name to the board at its Oct. 11 meeting.
The next step is the current holding of a public comment period for 60 days (through Dec. 10). During this time, the public is encouraged to submit comments on the new names via email or during the public comment period of AUSD Board of Education meetings. The Board will vote on the name at its Dec. 13 meeting.
A timeline, Board of Education presentations and more details are available on the district’s WCDC renaming webpage at bayareane.ws/WCDCrenaming. The community is welcome to contact me at my email address below with any questions about it.
Susan Davis is the Alameda Unified School District’s senior manager for community affairs. Reach her at 510-337-7175 or SDavis@alamedaunified.org.
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